Samsung working on 6.3 inch screen Galaxy Note

Samsung is reported to be working on a Galaxy Note having screen of 6.3 inch.

Samsung has pioneered the segment which is between of a tablet and smartphone, can be calles as "phablet". Earlier devices of this segment failed to attract public, because they were heavy and not user friendly, but there's no such problem with Galaxy Note. 

Samsung has designed every Galaxy Note keeping the "ease of access" in the mind, which resulted in the bumper sale of Note Series Galaxy Smartphones. Last month, Samsung reported that it has sold 5 million units of the Galaxy Note 2 in two months. 

The report has been shown in Korea Times, according to which Samsung has planned to show something special in the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2013, in February 2013. It can be the new Galaxy S IV.

Til then we will wait for the new super-sized Galaxy Note.

Sony's limited edition Golden Xperia P

Sony Mobile has created a Limited 24K Gold Edition Xperia P and is giving one away in a competition.  Sony has given the luxury treatment to its smartphone having 4-inch display and dual-core 1GHz processor. It seems that smartphone giant has decided to make it compete against elite business class phone Vertu. Undoubtedly, it is the first luxury phone having Android ICS. 

15 such models have been made and Sony is also giving away some golden models of Xperia on Facebook. Register as soon as you can because the contest will close shortly. Sony posted on its Facebook page, all that you need to do to enter the contest is answer a single question and email your response to fans.se@sonymobile.com. The golden question is :

“What is a gold Friday for you?”

You can also visit Sony Facebook page here

Here are the brief specs of Gold edition Xperia P

• 4″ 540 x 960 Display
• 1GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB Internal Storage
• 8 MP Rear Camera / VGA Front-facing camera
• WiFi/Bluetooth/NFC/HDMI/USB OTG
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

[Source : Android Soul]

At least 512 MB RAM otherwise no Jelly Bean for your HTC

HTC is going to serve its users with latest Android dessert, Jelly Bean.

HTC has updated their Android FAQ page. Here the manufacturer has mentioned that which devices are going to receive the most awaited taste of Android, i.e.Jelly Bean. They have clearly specified that the devices having less than 512 MB of RAM will not receive the update and they have to stick to their present OS. So it also shows that such devices will not receive any update. For Example, HTC One V and HTC Desire C users have to stick to the ICS version.

However, HTC said it will update its customers on the other devices that won’t receive Jelly Bean in the future.

Here's the updated info from HTC.

What devices will not get Android 4.1?

We work hard to ensure each of our products has the optimal user experience and therefore some products will remain at their current version of Android. In general, devices with 512MB RAM or less will not be upgraded to Android 4.1. At present, these devices include the HTC One V and the HTC Desire C. As we identify other devices that will not be upgraded, we'll provide updated information.

It should be noted that upgrades are not the same thing as ongoing support. Devices not being upgraded to Android 4.1 will still get software improvements, security fixes, and technical support.

Android growth chart: Nov 2012

Google has released the growth chart of Android Versions, with new Jelly Bean.

At merely 2.7%, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean usage has jumped just 0.9% compared to September, 2012. The OS debuted exactly 6 months ago, in Jun 2012, and despite Samsung and HTC's best efforts to update their high-end devices, Jelly Bean still needs help.

Ice Cream Sandwich distribution is also on the rise clocking in at 25.8%, almost 2 points up from last month. With most manufacturers having completed their scheduled ICS updates, we don't expect this number to continue to climb. Especially with the majority shifting their attention to Jelly Bean.

Finally, Gingerbread is continuing to drop from 55.8% in September to 53.9% in October. With most devices comprising this number being low-end droids that would never see an update in their life, this number isn't likely to plummet anytime soon.

Courtesy: GSMArena

Samsung ATIV Odyssey Windows Phone 8 device coming soon

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer just revealed that the Samsung ATIV Odyssey Windows Phone 8 smartphone will be coming to Verizon Wireless this December. The Odyssey is Samsung's first ATIV smartphone in the US and joins the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 822 in Verizon's Windows Phone 8 lineup. However, Microsoft did not provide and details regarding Odyssey's specs or pricing.

Courtesy: The Verge

Due to Hurricane Google Android event canceled

Google has cancelled a major Android event planned for Monday in New York City due to Hurricane Sandy.

The event was rumored to revolve around the launch of Android 4.2 “Key Lime Pie” and a 10-inch “Nexus 10″ tablet running on the brand-new OS. However, it’ll be at least a little longer before we see that Android update and tablet.

Google sent an email to the the people who have booked their tickets:

“We are canceling our Monday morning event in New York due to Hurricane Sandy. We will let you know our plans as soon as we know more."

It's the second time Google has postponed a launch event in recent memory — last year it moved its Ice Cream Sandwich event after the death of Steve Jobs.

However, it won't make a loss because Microsoft is going to launch Windows Phone 8 on Monday, 29 Oct 12. 

HTC J Butterfly launched

HTC has launched a new flagship Android smartphone with a 5-inch, 1080p display, called the HTC J Butterfly.

Unveiled by KDDI as the HTC J Butterfly (HTL21), this Android 4.1 device is the first announced phone to feature a 5-inch, 440ppi full-HD"Super LCD 3" panel, and it's fittingly complemented by a 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 underneath, making this the latest member in the small family of Snapdragon S4 Pro phones. 

The screen is indeed the star here: A 5-inch behemoth with a full HD, 1080p, 440ppi resolution, making it one of the most advanced smartphone screens out there. For comparison, the iPhone 5′s retina screen has a 640 × 1,136 resolution at 326 ppi.

The device is only 9.1mm thick, but it still has a solid 2,020mAh battery inside.

Courtesy: Mashable, Engadget

100th post: iPhone 5 v/s Galaxy SIII

And this is our 100th post. So we thought to post something that most of you are willing to see. 

Deathmatch: Apple iPhone 5 v/s Samsung Galaxy SIII

Galaxy SIII

iPhone 5

The article is taken straight away from Techno Buffalo as they compared this video test. Enjoy the comparison between best of both worlds: iOS and Android.

Courtesy: Techno Buffalo

Sony's rumored Nexus X

Does it look like the upcoming Nexus phone? Photos of a smartphone, purported to be Sony’s contribution to Google’s Nexus line of devices, emerged online Sunday.

Picasa user Mutul Yeter posted two photos of the phone, called the “Sony Nexus X” to his or her only album. One photo shows the front of the rectangular phone, which features three hardware buttons, including Back and Home. Another shows its back side, which has the Google and Sony logos inscribed on the surface. The device also appears to have both front- and back-facing cameras.

Courtesy: Mashable

Microsoft is designing Surface Phone

Microsoft is changing rapidly, with CEO Steve Ballmer saying the future lies in a "devices-and-services company."  Company is designing a smartphone or should be said, a Surface Phone according to the current branding. 

Unless Windows Phone manages to secure some improved momentum with version 8, then don't be surprised to see a Surface phone next year.

However, MS won't release its own Windows Phone device this year, as sources have told. Multiple insiders have confirmed there are no plans to introduce a Microsoft-branded Windows Phone device before the end of 2012, but that the company is likely considering it as a "Plan B." Microsoft officials continue issuing non-denials about a potential Surface phone. "We are big believers in our hardware partners and together we’re focused on bringing Windows Phone 8 to market with them," a spokesperson tells the media. 

Courtesy: The Verge

Samsung rolling out JellyBean

Samsung has started rolling Android 4.1.1 or Jelly Bean updates for its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3.

It was earlier said that Galaxy S3 will receive JellyBean update on 29th of August 2012. However, it was just a rumor. But this time news are true.

The first country to receive the update is Poland, and users in other European countries can expect it soon as well — no later than October.

Samsung has also announced the full list of devices that will get the Jelly Bean upgrade sometime in the future. The devices are: Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Chat, Galaxy Ace 2, Galaxy Beam, Galaxy Ace Plus, Galaxy Mini 2, Galaxy S Duos, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Music.

Join Apple on unveiling new iPhone and iPad

The family portrait you see above is likely what Apple’s mobile lineup will look like on retail shelves around the world this holiday season. Apple is gearing up for one of the biggest ever periods in technology, and it’ll need all the ammo at its insanely wealthy disposal if it wants to keep up.

The company will have papa iPad, the much rumored mama iPad mini, and the all-important iPhone 5, which we’ll know about at today’s event. The landscape is moving toward the 7-inch tablet range right now; they’re ultra-portable, lighter, and a bit easier to wield than larger alternatives. The render above is designed to give scale and demonstrate how the devices will look alongside each other.

It’s a pretty handsome looking lineup, one that’ll come up against devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Nexus 7 and Microsoft Surface during the next few months. It’ll be mighty interesting to see if this model family is still at the top of the heap when 2013 rolls around.

Watch iPhone 5 live event: 

• Engadget
• CNET
• T3 News
• TechnoBufflalo
• Mashable
• The Verge

500 Million Android Activations

Google’s Director of Product Management for Android, Hugo Barra, has posted on Google+ this morning to announce that 500 million Android devices have now been activated globally.

It’s a huge milestone for the company, but it’s one that will quickly be surpassed. Barra also reaffirmed that a whopping 1.3 million Android devices are now being activated every single day. That means that by the end of the year, that total figure should look a lot more like 600 million — especially with the lucrative holiday season coming up.

Barra also announced on Google+ that the company’s Jelly Bean statue (above) is now sat outside of its Mountain View headquarters again. The figure was removed after its plastic head melted in the Californian sun over the summer, but it’s now been fixed.

The milestone is a steady improvement from the announcement of 300 million Android activations back in February and 400 million at June's Google I/O conference. 

Apple used to take part in this game, regularly announcing daily iOS device activations up until 2010, which may or may not have something to do with the fact that Android surpassed iOS in 2011.

Samsung ATIV Windows phone released

And here is the new Windows 8 powered phone, Samsung ATIV S. With ATIV, Samsung appears to be fully embracing Windows 8 as part of its mobile strategy.

ATIV is “vita” spelled backward, and it’s a way for the company to showcase that it’s one of the few companies that makes Windows computers, tablets and phones. The ATIV S is the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone. It packs a dual-core 1.5GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and can connect to HSPA+ 42 networks. The 

ATIV S has an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash in back and a 1.9MP camera in front. It’s equipped with Bluetooth 3.0, NFC (near-field communication) along with assisted GPS and its Russian counterpart, Glonass. It also boasts the same “tap to share” ability that Samsung put in the new Galaxy Note II. It comes with either 16 or 32GB of storage.

Samsung ATIV Series: http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ

Gallery (Click on images to get full view)

Galaxy Note II unveiled

Samsung has just unveiled the Samsung Galaxy Note II smartphone at its event at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The new Note is narrower and taller than the old version, with a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED screen — slightly larger than the previous Note‘s 5.3-incher. Samsung managed to narrow the form factor by changing the aspect ratio to a 16:9 widescreen display.

The new Note is powered by Android 4.1 “Jelly Bean.” It packs a 1.6GHz processor with 2GB of RAM.

Of course, it also has the S Pen stylus, boasting some new abilities that weren’t in the old Note. First is Air View, which lets you preview content by hovering the stylus over icons. For example, you could hold the S Pen over a day on a calendar, and a preview window of that day’s appointments will appear.

There’s also Quick Command: Just sweep the S Pen up and a blank square pops up where you can write customized commands that will instantly do things such as send an email to a specific person.

[Courtesy: Mashable]

Galaxy S3 Jellybean: 29 August

Samsung Galaxy S3, meet Jelly Bean. Jelly Bean, meet the Samsung Galaxy S3. The hottest update for the hottest phone around is rumored to be taking place this month, as the popular Galaxy S3 is upgraded to the latest version of Android.

The Samsung fans at Sam Mobile report that the S3's Jelly Bean update is in the final stages of testing, and will be revealed on 29 August. That's the start of IFA, the annual European trade show where the world's tech manufacturers, distributors, press and general hangers-on gather in Berlin to eat sausages, quaff from steins, and fondle the best kit hitting shops for the rest of the year and beyond. Samsung is expected to unveil a new Galaxy Note at IFA. 

Could we see some Jelly Bean action too? Word on the street is that the code for the Jelly Bean update is fully baked and has been submitted to Google for certification. When the big G gives the thumbs up, Samsung can start to push the update out to you and your S3.

It's unusual that no code has leaked yet, but we already know that security around the S3 is intense. One engineer who worked on designing the phone described the security as "torture" -- so that could extend to the Jelly Bean update too.

It's unusual that no code has leaked yet, but we already know that security around the S3 is intense. One engineer who worked on designing the phone described the security as "torture" -- so that could extend to the Jelly Bean update too. Let's hope the Jelly Bean update goes rather more smoothly than the last upgrade.

[Thanks to: CNET]

Android Jelly Bean rumors

Google's amazing event known as Google I/O will kick off by 5 hrs by now, and Engadget has done all preparations to stay updated with the keynote with it's live blog. A lot of developers. media persons from all around the world have registered. We are expecting that here new Android will be unveiled. 

We think that new Jelly Bean will have such features:

• New browser with new UI
• Voice assistant but more powerful than Siri
• New lock screen
• Support for more devices
• New Play Store
• More powerful integration of Cloud 
• New UI, of course
• Chrome as Default browser
• Support for both Tabs and Smartphones without too much change in OS
• Memory Usage with Data consumption tool
• Powerful Video editor
• More powerful image editor, free of cost
• Can be installed on low level Android Devices running earlier Androids
• Support for more languages
• Updated voice search and voice input
• Facebook, twitter integration
• Instant data backup
• Effective Sandboxing
• Google+ connection

and more...... (as the greed increases)

Catch all the action (and thanks to Engadget to provide live blog) of keynote here

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/27/google-io-2012-keynote-liveblog

You can also watch the videos from Google YouTube channel (or embedded below)

Galaxy S3 photogallery

Samsung Galaxy SIII has been launched in 145 countries, on 296 mobile operators around the world making it the biggest launch in Samsung history. Here is the Photo gallery. You can view the entire album here.

Samsung will unveil new Galaxy on May 3

Samsung has started sending out invites for the launch of the next Galaxy smartphone, which is slated for May 3 in London.The invite doesn't give any details about the upcoming device(s) — it merely says “come and meet the next Galaxy.”

However, we know that the company plans to reveal Samsung Galaxy S III, which was rumored to be launched at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but Samsung decided to move the launch to a later date.

In any case, Samsung will have to show something truly spectacular if it wants to top the Tegra 3 powerhouses from HTC.

[Source: Mashable]

Apple app store has reached 25M downloads

Apple customers have collectively downloaded 25 billion apps from the App Store, the company has announced on its webpage. That’s more than three apps per person in the world.

The milestone signals not only a vast appetite for apps, but also growing smartphone penetration and Apple profits (the company takes a 30% cut from every app or in-app purchase).

People with iOS devices are downloading an increasing number of apps. One 2011 study, for instance, concluded iOS owners download about 60 apps each, which is 50 more apps that the same researcher found each iOS owner downloaded in 2008.

And as the number of apps per device has grown, so has the number of devices. In a 2011 Pew Survey, 35% of the 2,277 U.S. adults questioned in English or Spanish said that they owned a smartphone. Pew released another study this week that found this percentage has since jumped to 46%. More Americans now own smartphones than feature phones, and the world bought 37 million of them from Apple last quarter alone.

Growing app downloads and growing device sales are a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: Do people buy iPhones because they want to download apps or do they download apps because they have iPhones?

Combined net sales for the iTunes Store, App Store and iBookstore in 2011 was $5.4 billion — just 6% of Apple’s net sales, but a 33% increase compared to 2010.

Whether devices are driving app sales or the app store is driving device sales (or, more realistically, some combination of both), growing app demand and growing mobile device penetration have served Apple’s bottom line quite nicely.

The company reported its highest revenue and earnings ever last quarter. If you go by its market cap, it is now worth more than all the tea in China.

In this context, the $10,000 gift card Apple promised to give away when it hit the 25 billionth app from its App Store looks less over-the-top. Apple hasn’t yet announced the winner, but considering that to enter the contest, users were required to agree to publicly share some App Store picks with the Apple community if they won, we’ll likely be meeting the lucky winner soon.