Samsung Galaxy S II now shipping with Android 4.0 ICS

If you intend to buy a Galaxy S II, there is some good news for you. It seems Samsung is shipping all new Galaxy S II units with pre-installed Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

We've only received confirmation from the Indian market, but we guess other areas are getting the same treatment.

The ICS update for the Galaxy S II has been around for a while but lots of people will appreciate the fact that Samsung spared them the effort of upgrading.

If you insist on getting an ICS-bundled Galaxy S II, look out for units imported in April 2012 or later. In case you get an older device after all, don’t worry – the update is delivered OTA, so you'll only need aWi-Fi network to apply it. 

Xperia S Android 4.0 update arriving by late May

Everyone and their grandmother by now has lamented the lack of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on the Xperia S. Why would Sony want to launch a flagship phone in 2012 without the latest version of Android is beyond us. They promised an update in future but never gave any concrete dates. However, it seems that you won't have to wait too long now to get the update.

While there is still no official confirmation, one of the members of Sony support staff commented on their forum that the official Android 4.0 update for the Xperia S will start rolling out by late May/early June. As usual, he mentions that not all phones will get it simultaneously but that's the general time period by which you can expect to get an update for your Xperia S.

Meizu plans ICS update for MX and M9 this June, slaps it with a Flyme OS skin

Back in November, Meizu's CEO Jack Wong casually mentioned an update to Ice Cream Sandwich would be making its way to MX and M9 handsets, he just didn't specify when exactly. Well, that all important tidbit's been cleared up today with official news pegging a software upgrade to Android 4.0 for sometime this June. Owners of either device won't necessarily be getting a pure injection of Google's latest dessert when that OTA hits, but rather a skinned version known as Flyme OS 1.0 that purportedly brings with it a host of improvements. Among that list of supposed refinements are a more logical interface, ability to backup and sync data, in addition to cloud storage. So when summer finally rolls around and the rest of the Googlefied smartphone universe is still kicking it with Gingerbread, feel free to sit back and gloat. Official presser in all its hyperbolic wonder after the break.

HTC One X gets teardown, battery unsurprisingly dominates

While some might deem the One X's combination of svelte unibody profile, quad-core power and 720p display to be downright witchcraft, we knew differently. Fortunately, there's now scientific proof to back us up, courtesy of PCOnline, which has performed a delicate autopsy on the Chinese variant of HTC's new flagship. To explore that polycarbonate shell, a narrow plastic tool to is eased in behind the screen and around the face of the device, with the majority of the phone's tightly packed innards -- including the Tegra 3 processor -- attached to the display half. Some contacts, however, were left on the inside of the unibody, including the NFC chip. Most of the quad-core thinking parts were clustered around the 8-megapixel sensor, while the battery dominated the center of HTC's big hitter. Anyone who gets their kicks from the gentle undoing of all that engineering hard work can watch it unravel in grisly detail at the source below.

Huawei 2011 financials: 20 million smartphones sold yet profit down 53 percent

Huawei's annual earnings report is out and it's a mixed bag, since while turnover increased by 11.7 percent to 203.9 RMB ($32.3 billion), profits plummeted 53 percent to 11.6 billion RMB ($1.8 billion). Revenue from overseas sales (138.4 billion RMB) equated for over half the company's total income and it boasted of having sold 150 million consumer devices, including 20 million smartphones in the year. The company didn't provide reasons for the drop in profit, emphasizing that it's increased R&D spending by 34.2 percent to 23.7 billion RMB ($3.75 billion) and that in any event, it's got around $30 billion of assets that can shoulder the brunt of a bad year.
However, the company may not see a rosy 2012 either, after both America and Australia refused to give the company big infrastructure deals (Huawei's bread and butter) thanks to allegedly close relationships between the company and the Chinese government. It seems to be following a similar trajectory to rival ZTE, which also felt margins squeeze as it entered the global retail space and felt the heat when its political dealings were thrown in the spotlight.

Paul Thurrott confirms no Windows Phone 8 for any current handsets

There have been conflicting rumors recently over whether or not current Windows Phone handsets would be getting the update to Windows Phone 8 when it hits later this year, but Paul Thurrott wants to set the record straight once an for all. A few days ago, the question was brought up whether or not current handsets will get the upgrade to Windows Phone 8, but we seemingly had confirmation that it could when yesterday it came out that the software was being tested on Nokia Lumia 610 and 800 handsets. Unfortunately, Paul Thurrott does not have good news for anyone with a current handset, not even the new flagship Nokia Lumia 900.

Paul Thurrott wants to set the record straight, and do it convincingly:

No. It won’t happen. Not for the Lumia 900, and not for any other existing phone. It won’t happen partially, through an update that will deliver just some features, and it won’t happen for those who wish to pay for such an update. It simply isn’t happening.

You can't get any more clear than that. Thurrott forced a contact with Microsoft to reveal this info and has three reasons why it won't be happening. First, the economics aren't worth it. The current Windows Phone ecosystem is pretty small, and will probably have fewer than 20 million handsets sold by the time Windows Phone 8 is planned to launch. The small size of the ecosystem compared with the cost of building Windows Phone 8 to support those handsets apparently isn't worthwhile for Microsoft.

Second, Microsoft wants to push forward the platform. Windows Phone 7 was still based on the Windows CE kernel, but Windows Phone 8 will be running the Windows 8 kernel. Microsoft wants to have this platform span from smartphones to tablets and tie-in to desktops, so the hardware needs to be more powerful than before. Microsoft has kept a very tight ecosystem with Windows Phone 7, but now it needs to push into multi-core CPUs and HD resolution displays. Optimizing that hardware is the priority, not making the system scale to old hardware.

Lastly, Thurott claims that carriers simply would "never, ever, ever, ever deliver this update to users." Thurrott doesn't really explain this claim, just saying that he knows for a fact that it will never happen.

Of course, Thurrott has been known to be wrong in the past, but he also does have some very solid contacts with Microsoft, so it's hard to say whether this is all true or not. It does make sense, and we've seen similar things happen with both iOS and Android, where older hardware had to be left behind in order to push forward the platform. We'll just have to wait and see if it's true.

Nokia Lumia smartphones doing poorly in Europe, admit carriers

The Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T has been selling like hot cakes despite store employees not putting much effort in promoting the smartphone. However, even though the company's flagship has taken off, Nokia has not been doing that well as of late, and its overall unit sales are pretty disappointing, as it was revealed last week.

In fact, European wireless carriers that have been offering the Nokia Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 since Q4 of 2011 are quite underwhelmed. "No one comes into the store and asks for a Windows phone," said an executive who works for one of them during an interview with Reuters. "Nokia have given themselves a double challenge: to restore their credibility in terms of making hardware smartphones and succeed with the Microsoft Windows operating system, which lags in the market," the executive added. Lack of innovation and insufficient marketing efforts are among the prime reasons as to why the Lumia lineup has been doing poorly in Europe, according to representatives for the said carriers. The battery glitches that the Lumia 800 was plagued by made it even harder to convince customers that Nokia's smartphones were worth picking.

At the same time, Apple's iPhone 4S and Android smartphones made by Samsung are dominating the European smartphone market. If Lumia smartphones are to grab a bigger piece of the pie, European carriers will have to increase subsidies so that customers can have a bigger incentive to buy one. Increasing the marketing budget with a little help from Microsoft could be of help as well, although it is no guarantee that doing so would turn the Lumia brand into a market success.

Samsung now giving Galaxy Note buyers in India a free pair of Sennheiser headphones

Deep down inside, I have a thing for ultra low end phones. How little money can I spend on a device that will do damn near everything my high end smartphone does? Earlier today I was delighted to find out that the Samsung Galaxy Pocket is now available for preorder here in Finland. At 140 Euros it’s an incredible value; for that you get Android 2.3, WiFi, GPS, 3G, and pretty much everything you’d need to be productive. While searching the internets for a review, I stumbled across an article on IBNLive that discusses the Pocket. At the end of said article they talk about the Galaxy Note:

“Samsung also announced an exciting consumer promotion on its premium Galaxy Note. Any consumer buying a Galaxy Note between today and May 31, 2012 can avail free Sennheiser headphones, download free music and games, download full version of Angry Birds Space free and get a free flip cover.”

That’s ridiculous! Sennheiser’s lowest end headphones are likely an order of magnitude better than whatever headphones that most companies package with their device. That’s one thing that deeply troubles me, the amount of garbage that comes with new phones that many people will never use. High end devices are the worst at this. Does Samsung think people who buy a Galaxy Nexus or a Galaxy Note need another charger around the house?
Anyway, if you’re in India, and are thinking of buying a Galaxy Note, now you have more reason to snatch one up. And if you don’t need the accessories, then don’t bother picking them up, since you’ll probably just throw them away.
If on the other hand you’re looking for a low end device, then do check out the Pocket. While I have no personal experience with it, I imagine that it’s probably built better than anything from lower cost Chinese vendors.

Samsung to reveal "the next galaxy" May 3 in London, Galaxy S III launch?

Samsung has started sending out invitations for a May 3 event in London that is cryptically entitled "Come and meet the next Galaxy". That's just 17 days from now and we know the thoughts on everyone's mind - "Galaxy S III cometh!"

We sure hope so, and if Samsung really does reveal its next Android flagship then, we'd say it has managed to be on par with Apple in building excitement and secrecy around its leading phone annual edition launch.

Ok, we know you want to start dissecting the news and speculating whether the picture represents ceramic pebbles, hinting at the rumored glass ceramic chassis, whether it represent drops of liquid, hinting at the alleged waterproof housing, is it both or is it just an artsy background, but we'll leave it all to your imagination.

HTC One X landing on AT&T next week? It is too late !!!!

We knew that the HTC One X would be landing on AT&T at some point in the near future, but you can get it on www.m2cmbile.com NOW, it is completely unlocked, $669.98/each.

When it does become officially available in the US, the One X will be the best phone in the market, by far. The international version’s sleek design will be retained in AT&T’s offering, unlike the WTF different design found on the upcoming Sprint EVO 4G LTE. The One X is just a taste of whats to come this year, and it tastes pretty damn good.
No longer will the NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core CPU be running the show in the US One X devices, and it will be replaced with a dual-core Qualcomm-made chipset to support LTE networks. This doesn’t slow the handset down in any way but we likely won’t see handsets with both a NVIDIA CPU and LTE support until the end of the year.
While the One X is certainly a force to be reckoned with, there’s another phone on the horizon that can steal all the lime light away from HTC’s new One line. Of course, that handset would be the Samsung Galaxy S III. Now that we have the official announcement date – a mere 17 days away, those of you wanting HTC’s new device may want to hold off to see what Sammy’s new flagship handset will be packing. That said, the Galaxy S III likely won’t hit the states for at very least a month after its announced, so if you’re looking for a powerful device in the next few weeks, the One X should be more than enough.
If the One X is set to land on AT&T shelves by next week, we certainly don’t have much time to wait. So in the mean time, you should check out our review of the device here if you haven’t already.

In Brief: How Apple Will Defend Itself in the E-Book Battle

Apple, charged by the Justice Department for alleged antitrust violations, is pointing the finger at Amazon for its e-book pricing.

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In Brief boils down complex events to give you the heart of the matter -- today and what it means for tomorrow -- clearly and simply.
What Happened: Apple stayed silent immediately after the DoJ announced its case against Apple, but now is responding to the lawsuit against it and two publishers for price-fixing in iBookstore.
"The DoJ's accusation of collusion against Apple is simply not true," said Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr. "The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry."
Apple arranged an agency pricing model with five major publishers upon release of the iPad to help combat Amazon and its popular Kindle eReader, which previously guaranteed the lowest e-book prices on the market. Amazon's wholesale pricing allowed for lower pricing, but Apple's agreement with the publishers caused Amazon's market share drop from 90 percent to 60 percent after iBookstore's release.
What Really Happened: In defending its actions, Apple turns the tables on the antitrust allegations and denies any wrongdoing, essentially saying its rival Amazon actually holds the monopoly in the e-books market.
Apple and the publishers' adoption of the agency pricing model did balance out the market by boosting Apple e-book business and may have prevented Amazon from securing a monopoly, but Apple also got a 30 percent cut in the process.
Now, it's up to the Department of Justice to prove Apple actions violated federal antitrust laws. If Apple can prove its agreement with the publishers wasn't a violation of antitrust laws, it could pave the way for new methods of competition in a changing industry.
What's Next: Amazon will likely tread cautiously about lowering its prices in response to the lawsuit, which the retailer is in the process of doing, because it could be subject to the same accusations Apple faces.
And as Apple argues the case, it could bring to light info about Amazon's own pricing models that could result in further investigation of its e-retailer rival. Apple's public defense will likely be its legal position, and the company is expected to point out its relative small e-book market share hardly constitutes the monopoly upon which the DoJ is basing its case upon.
The Takeaway: So far, Apple is not admitting to any wrongdoing in its arrangement with publishers. If Apple wins the case, it could mean such arrangements aren't considered to violate antitrust laws but serve as a vehicle to keep one competitor from cornering the market. But Apple is secure in its industry power, and the ability to undercut others' pricing methods gives it that much more. As the case continues, the court will determine what's right for e-book pricing, likely setting new boundaries and expectations for how the market will evolve in the future.

Girl tells her BF that his Samsung Galaxy S II is s*** after getting Blown Away by Nokia Lumia 800

Smoked by Windows Phone has become a way for Microsoft to show off how fast certain functions can be done on devices using its mobile OS vs. iOS and Android. Nokia has hijacked the promo for its own use as Blown Away by Nokia Lumia. Over in India, the Nokia crew decided to visit a college campus where they figured they would find a variety of smartphones to go up against the Nokia Lumia 800.
As we've told you, there are those iOS and Android users who believe that the whole promotion is a scam, while others point out that if some Android users knew their phone well, they could easily beat Windows Phone at some of the tasks. But let's head back to the Venkateswara Universityu campus in New Delhi where a young man came armed with a Samsung Galaxy S II. This model is considered the greatest Android smartphone produced to date by many, and for its battle against the Nokia Lumia 800 both phones had to snap a picture and upload it to Facebook.

You can check the video below to see what happened, but we feel compelled to tell you that the Nokia Lumia 800 won the contest. So while the young man had to confess on video that his Samsung Galaxy S II was "Blown Away by Nokia Lumia," his girl friend didn't take it as well as he did. After asking him if they could leave a few times, she seemed embarrassed by what she might have considered a wimpy performance by the Android device. This was a female not impressed with those 3000+ scores that the Samsung Galaxy S II has scored on the Quadrant benchmark test. Her comment to her boyfriend? "Your phone is a worthless piece of s***". Not too many people have characterized the Samsung Galaxy S II in this way, but we see a Nokia Lumia 800 in someone's future. Ironically, just the other day Samsung complained that the Nokia campaign was unethical.

Alleged Samsung Galaxy S III photo surfaces, showing a rectangular home button and five row interface

From the confines of a Polish mobile phone blog a picture of something in flesh and blood has appeared, that is claimed to be the hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III. This is no render, as most previous leaks, but rather a dark rectangular handset lying on a desk.

There is the physical home button underneath the display, which we recently learned has made its way into the front design at the last minute, as well as the rumored five row UI, similar to the Galaxy Note layout. In fact, Samsung has an R&D center in Poland, which leaked the Galaxy Note chillaxing in the metro in someone's hands before the official announcement, so this thing might have some dose of credibility to it.

The source says it was sent to them by a guy who claimed he is currently a tester, and who had censored the UI details beforehand. The Galaxy S III has allegedly been kept on the hush-hush for so long, as carriers got a generic box with only the screen and the ports uncovered, so the testers didn't leak the design prematurely.

Yet this thing doesn't look inserted into a case or anything, seems to be running stock ICS, like an early test model, and the app icons columns don't seem particularly aligned with the phone, which might be due to the clumsy 8-bit "censoring" of the interface, though.

Anyways, leaks like these are supposed to keep us warm until the real thing drops, hopefully next month. What do you think about the latest contestant in the Galaxy S III leak show?

LG renames Optimus LTE to Optimus True HD LTE, disses Samsung's HD Super AMOLED

While the Optimus LTE's already made its way to South Korea, Japan and the US (in the guise of the Spectrum and the Nitro HD), LG's decided to give this dual-core handset a new name ahead of its Hong Kong launch at the end of this month. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Optimus True HD LTE. Alas, the "true HD" part here doesn't actually mean the phone's getting 1080p resolution on a 4.5-inch panel (which would be 490ppi; yet Toshiba's actually done it!); but we were told that 'tis really just a dig at Samsung's HD Super AMOLED technology -- you know, the magic behind that 4.65-inch screen on the Galaxy Nexus and the Galaxy S II HD LTE.

Simply put, LG doesn't think that 1,280 x 720 on PenTile counts as HD due to the lower number of sub-pixels; and while it's at it, the company also criticized AMOLED's over-expressed colors and higher power consumption in "normal user environment" -- for the latter, LG showed that its AH-IPS has a more consistent power consumption across varying levels of overall whiteness. You can see the relevant slides after the break.

Of course, we've already expressed (twice) how much we like the HD Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Nexus. The clearness issue now is much less noticeable when compared to the original Super AMOLED; but as for color accuracy, many of us are indeed deceived by the vibrancy that we naturally enjoy -- except when you need to inspect photos, of course. Regardless, we're pretty sure that it's only a matter of time before Samsung strikes back with a, ahem, "true HD" Super AMOLED (Plus) panel -- hopefully in time for the upcoming Galaxy S III.

56% of survey respondents say they plan on getting an iPhone, Samsung next in line

ChangeWave Research did its quarterly survey of 4, 413 respondents with one simple question - if they plan on buying a smartphone in the next 90 days, what will they get - and the results for March reveal that Apple's iPhone demand is still going strong.

About 56% of those who plan on replacing their phones in the next three months said they are going to get an iPhone, which is the second highest percentage on the research company's record, and shows Apple doesn't have much to worry about in Q2.

Next in line were the people who wanted a Samsung handset, then Motorola, HTC and a BlackBerry. ChangeWave even made handy little charts showing the respondents brand distribution, as well as the demise of BlackBerry phones' demand.

We wonder how these results might change in the months after the Samsung Galaxy S III announcement, and before Apple has started selling the next iPhone version.

 

 

Surprise! Apple says there's no heat issue with the new iPad

Apple may be doing a few things differently recently, but one thing that hasn't changed in the Tim Cook era is how Apple responds to reports of a potentially widespread problem in one of its products. Recently, there have been reports, with quite impressive data behind them, saying that the new iPad runs pretty hot.

Of course, the question is whether this extra heat is a problem or not. A few people have reported the new iPad overheating to the point of auto-shutdown with an error message, but those reports haven't been very widespread so far. An Apple spokesperson, Trudy Muller told The Loop that the iPad runs "well within our thermal specifications" adding, "If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare."

That's the answer we expected from Apple. However, the real question is what Apple's thermal specifications may be. Obviously, we know that Apple has been very clear to call its MacBooks "notebook" computers rather than "laptops", because they run so hot that keeping a MacBook on your lap can be a terrible experience. Maybe that's what's happening with the iPad, it may be hotter, but Apple thinks that's okay, and may even be helpful when winter comes back.

Wi-Fi signal strength an issue for users of the new Apple iPad

The new Apple iPad is less than a week old and already there seems to be a problem with the Wi-Fi connectivity on the tablet. Some users are complaining that the Wi-Fi signal strength on the new iPad is too weak. One user in a hotel room said that the hotel's Wi-Fi signal registered as the strongest possible and yet the iPad showed a weak signal. Another user had to post to a blog about the new iPad from his OG Apple iPad because his new tablet wouldn't pick up the Wi-Fi signal that his older Apple tablet did.

Some buyers of the new iPad are ready to return it. One frustrated iPad buyer is upset because in a room where there is perfect Wi-Fi reception for an Apple iPhone and two MacBooks, the new iPad won't hold a Wi-Fi connection for more than 2 minutes."Ready to return iPad!!!," said the user. One iPad owner said that the Wi-Fi on his iPad wouldn't work unless he was within 6 feet of the router.

If this all sounds familiar, it's because Apple had similar problems with the original Apple iPad in 2010 and that problem was resolved with a subsequent software update. And in addition to the problem with Wi-Fi connectivity, there was also talk that the third iteration of Apple's tablet was running hot, about 10 degrees warmer than the iPad 2. The Cupertino based firm has denied this, saying that the new iPad runs within "thermal specifications."

The only other issue regarding the tablet is the speed at which users are blowing through their monthly data cap. If you are streaming video, your best bet is to do so over a Wi-Fi hook up. In 2010, PC Mag's mobile analyst Sascha Segan showed how easy it was to burn 5GB over Verizon's LTE network in just 32 minutes. If you call Apple or Verizon, they would suggest that you use your Wi-Fi connection. And you might have no problem doing that except for the problem that iPad users have had with Wi-Fi connectivity. See what we did there? It's the whole Circle of Mobile Life thing.

New iPad is the hottest iPad yet, literally

The new third-generation iPad is hot not only figuratively - it sold three million units during the launch weekend alone - but also very literally. The tablet burns 10 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the iPad 2.

Five minutes after it started running GLBenchmark, the new iPad reached temperatures of 33.6° C (92.5 Fahrenheit), while under similar circumstances the iPad 2 heat level stood at 28.3° C (82.9 Fahrenheit). The results were obtained by using an infrared camera.

Now 92.5 degrees Fahrenheit is far from being burning hot, but it should definitely make for a difference you can feel in your lap, hands or wherever you use your tablet.

We’re curious whether you felt this already or does the temperature difference seem insignificant in real life. Share your experiences in the comments below.

UPDATE: The hot news about the thermal output of the new iPad seems to have quickly stung Apple and the company has released an official statement simply denying that the problem exists. Here's what it reads:

“The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications. If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare.”

At the same time, more reports have sprung up saying the iPad overheats under certain circumstances and shuts down after displaying an error message. We'll definitely be looking more into that as it sounds like a dead serious issue. In the meantime, we'd appreciate your first hand experience with the new iPad - share it in the comments below.

Here's the latest on the Samsung Galaxy S III

The latest speculation about the most anticipated Android model of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S III, comes from GSM Helpdesk. According to The Verge, the image on the screen resembles a TouchWiz skinned version of Gingerbread that was used on promotional material last year for the Samsung Galaxy S II. That doesn't automatically mean that the picture is a fake, but on the other hand, it doesn't inspire confidence in it either. The picture also resembles one we recently showed you that claimed to be that of the Samsung Galaxy S III, that showed the logo of a public relations firm in the corner.

The new mockup of the Samsung Galaxy S III (R) matches one from the other day

According to the latest information, the Samsung Galaxy S III will have a 4.7 inch screen with 720p resolution. A 12MP camera will be on back and inside the model a 1750mAh battery will power the handset. Under the hood you will find a quad-core 1.5GHz processor and 1GB of RAM. The whole shebang weighs 125 grams.

Samsung is expected to announce the Samsung Galaxy S III during a press event on May 22nd. Between now and then, as we get closer to the event, you can expect to see more pictures supposedly of the Samsung Galaxy S III, and read more specs allegedly belonging to the device. There will be differences between them. For example, compare the specs leaked with today's story to those from the other day which included a 4.8 inch 1080p screen, and 2GB of RAM.

PLease pay close attention to my Blog, www.m2cmobile.com will start to ship this model at that time. 

iPad 3 can run for 9 hours straight on LTE. Here's why

So, the new iPad is here, and it sure looks impressive on paper: Retina display, A5X processor with enhanced graphics, and LTE connectivity – all of these goodies while retaining the same great battery life. To be more specific, the new iPad can deliver 10 hours of continuous use on a single charge, or 9 hours if the 4G LTE radio is in use, according to Apple. How could that be possible?

The answer is quite simple actually. While checking out the hardware specs of the new iPad, we noticed that it comes with a 42.5Wh (watt-hour) battery. That is nearly twice the capacity of the iPad 2's battery cell, which is rated at 25Wh. However, as a battery's capacity increases, so does its physical size, which explains why the new iPad is slightly thicker than its predecessor. It has a thickness of 0.37 inches (9.4 mm), while the iPad 2 is only 0.34 inches (8.8 mm) thick. Still, not that big of a deal, in our opinion.

For everything related to Apple's new tablet, you can check out all our iPad 3 coverage.

Samsung Galaxy S II HD speeds through FCC

A Samsung phone with model name SHV-E120L has recently passed through the FCC and after some initial digging around sources have now confirmed it to be the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE HD. Yes the name is long, but the phone sounds amazing and I’d love to get my hands on one. Back in September Samsung announced the SGSII HD was headed to Korea and while initially we didn’t get a launch date or any news regarding a US launch, this FCC filing should clear up some doubts.
Samsung’s Galaxy S II has sold over 10 million worldwide already but its nice to see Samsung already making the phone better, not to mention the upcoming Galaxy S III. With the fast impr…

BUT, you can buy it on www.m2cmobile.com, they are shipped from Korea.

m2cmobile: NTT Docomo Fujitsu F-07D F07D Unlocked GSM 3G Android WiFi 5.1MP Waterproof 4.0LCD Phone

m2cmobile: NTT Docomo Fujitsu F-07D F07D Unlocked GSM 3G Android WiFi 5.1MP Waterproof 4.0LCD Phone

Nokia Lumia 800 review

Nokia once had a big stake in the U.S. smartphone market. I remember being jealous in high school that I couldn’t tell anyone my Snake high score because I carried a Motorola phone. I seemed to be the only kid without a Nokia device so, when I went to college, I picked up the Nokia 6010. I was drawn to the color screen and interchangeable face plates, and I carried it through all four years of college, preferring its durability to the Motorola RAZR that all of my friends had bought. The iPhone was announced in 2007 and, seemingly almost overnight, Nokia was completely gone from the hands of U.S. wireless subscribers. Sure, there were a few flip phones from Verizon Wireless over the years and a handful of Symbian devices from AT&T and T-Mobile, but none of those phones had the power to bring Nokia back into the spotlight. The Lumia 800 does. It isn’t just a phone, it symbolizes Nokia’s efforts to re-enter the global wireless market with a unique point of view and a fresh portfolio. It’s not available here in the U.S. yet, but a variant almost certainly will be early next year. Does the Lumia 800 push boundaries? Is it the best Windows Phone out there? Are the hardware and software married so perfectly that the competition might be looking on with envy? My full review follows below.

Hardware

Not since the Galaxy S II have I been so excited for the FedEx person to buzz my apartment and drop off a new review unit. There was a ton of hype coming out of Nokia World surrounding the Nokia Lumia 800; it is Nokia’s flagship Windows Phone for 2011 and we loved it during our initial hands-on. Plus, I was secretly hoping that I’d receive a cyan-colored review unit. As luck would have it though, I received a matte black one.
The Lumia 800 has a beautiful face, just like the N9, and it feels heavy and solid in the hand. I love its contoured screen, which looks almost like lacquer was poured into a basin and left to harden with a nice, curved, top. The ClearBlack AMOLED screen is bright and colorful, but side by side with the Samsung Focus Flash I found myself preferring Samsung’s more vibrant Super AMOLED screen, which also had brighter whites.

The buttons on the right side of the phone for volume up/down, power and the camera appear to be faux chrome plastic and, while I like the soft finish, the back is simple and a bit boring save for its 8-megapixel camera. There’s a small metal piece surrounding the camera that identifies the Carl Zeiss lens, but I wish the back had etching, more accents or anything that really screamed “I’m a Nokia flagship phone!” Plus, it really attracts fingerprints and my Lumia 800 often looked grimy.
Nokia included a plastic hatch for the microUSB port and a second hatch for a microSIM card slot. You have to open the microUSB port to access the microSIM and if you close the microSIM before the microUSB, the two get caught and you’ll need a paper clip to re-open them. I like that the hatch hides the ugly ports, but it was also a bit annoying considering that I frequently hook my phones up to a computer for charging or file transfers.

I usually keep all of my videos and photos on a single microSD card that I move from phone to phone. Most of the latest Windows Phone 7.5 devices lack a microSD port though, which is frustrating. It’s not the Lumia 800’s fault, though, so I won’t harp on it too much.

Software

Nokia recently adopted Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) operating system just like a number of other manufacturers, including LG, HTC and Samsung to name a few. However, it differentiates itself by adding a few of its own applications that truly add value to the phone. There’s Nokia Maps, Nokia Music and Nokia Drive for turn-by-turn directions installed out of the box.
First, a bit of background: If you’re unfamiliar with Windows Phone, it offers one of the most intuitive user interfaces available on a mobile phone today. The home screen is populated with a number of tiles that can be customized and that can present “live” information, if a developer so pleases. A swipe to the left reveals a full menu of all the applications installed on your phone.
Microsoft maintains a tight ship when it comes to customizations, so there aren’t different user interfaces to get used to, as is the case with Android. Microsoft does allow Nokia certain liberties with its devices, but the Finnish vendor has not strayed strayed much thus far. So in terms of software, the only differentiation on the Lumia 800 is the free navigation, music store and mapping applications.

A few years back before we all had Google Maps or Bing or any other mapping software on our smartphones, there was Nokia Maps. OK, there was BlackBerry Maps, too, but it wasn’t nearly as powerful. Nokia Maps was beautiful and it worked well. Today, it still works quite well, although I prefer the cleaner user interface in Google Maps. A search for “bar” near my apartment in New York revealed several nearby pubs, but failed to locate a bar just a block away that has existed for the past several years. Zooming is fluid, however, and there are several views available including a satellite image option. Overall, I preferred to use it over Bing, which never seems to find what I’m looking for.
Unlike most Windows Phones, the Lumia 800 provides two options for purchasing new music out of the box: Microsoft’s default Zune Marketplace and its own Nokia Music store. Nokia Music allows you to access your music, purchase songs, find local “gigs” and more. The shop also lists top songs, a welcome feature that is lacking in Microsoft’s own Marketplace.
I loved the Gigs feature of Nokia Music. It brings up a list of local concerts by date and provides the addresses. Nokia could have built on this feature by allowing users to purchase tickets directly, or allowing users to tap the address for driving directions using Nokia Drive.

I live in New York City and don’t own a car, but I enjoyed Nokia Drive for what it’s worth. The software provides free turn-by-turn directions and allows you to download street maps by continent, country and state. I downloaded a 102MB New York map in a few minutes and it’s just as easy to add more, should you be preparing for a trip. There are also tons of different voice options. The UI isn’t too crowded and there are both 2D and 3D map modes. I won’t know how well Nokia Drive stacks up to Google Navigation, my current favorite GPS client, until I have to drive out of the city but it’s definitely a solid free application that other Windows Phone devices don’t have right now.

Call Quality / Data

Call quality with the Lumia 800 was pretty run of the mill; the audio quality hardly knocked my socks off, but I didn’t experience any major issues, either. The Lumia 800 supports AT&T’s 3G network in the United States and, using http://dslreports.com/mspeed as a speed test benchmark, I averaged around 700Kbps using an AT&T SIM card. That’s pretty awful, considering most of AT&T’s own 3G smartphones easily exceed 1Mbps.
The phone comes with its own headset with a built-in microphone. It works perfectly fine during phone calls, but the team here at BGR discovered a weird issue thanks to a tip from a friend of the site: if you connect the original Nokia headset and place a call, it works just fine. You can then use any third-party headset with a microphone as you wish. However, if you try to use a third-party headset from the get-go, or before you use Nokia’s headset, it won’t work. So basically, as it stands, you can really only use Nokia’s headset unless you opt for a Bluetooth headset.

Camera

I’ve always looked forward to using the Carl Zeiss cameras on high-end Nokia phones, but I wasn’t blown away by the quality of the pictures taken with the Lumia 800. They offered a sharper picture, had a warmer white balance and were more colorful than those shot with my iPhone 4, but not by much. As I’ve said in other recent reviews, I recently bought a relatively budget-friendly point and shoot and it still blows away any smartphone I’ve used. While other reviewers may make arguments that it’s time to leave the point and shoot at home, I disagree.
The Nokia Lumia 800 video automatically defaults to shooting in a VGA resolution, but there’s also a 720p HD video option. 720p HD video shot in my apartment wasn’t that amazing. The camera is slow at adjusting to to new lighting and its auto-focus is just as sluggish. Unlike many Android smartphones, the Lumia 800 doesn’t offer an HDMI port, so you can’t hook it up to your HDTV to watch videos. The only way to get content off of the phone is to either send it over a Wi-Fi or 3G network, which isn’t really optimal with a large HD video, or connect it up to a computer with Microsoft’s Zune client installed. I really, really, wish it had a microSD card for this purpose.

Battery

Windows Phone devices typically offer above-average battery life and the Lumia 800 proved no different. I was easily able to milk a full day’s worth of battery life from the Nokia Lumia 800′s 1,450 mAh battery. Users can’t access the battery, however, so you might run into some issues if you ever run have a problem that would normally require a battery pull. The first review unit I got was a bit buggy and a battery pull might have helped in a few cases, but I had to perform a hard reset on the phone instead and eventually I had to request a new unit from Nokia. This was apparently an isolated software issue though, and I don’t think it will impact launch units.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of this review, I couldn’t wait for the Lumia 800 to arrive so that I could finally see just how well Nokia was able to marry Windows Phone 7.5, an operating system I already love, with the Finnish phone maker’s incredible hardware. I like the AMOLED display, but it doesn’t blow me away like the Super AMOLED Plus screens on Samsung’s devices. I’m not a huge fan of the polycorbonate build (it feels like any other plastic to me) and think there are definitely some weak hardware design points, such as the microUSB and miniSIM card hatch. I know I’m alone here, though, as there are tons of people who love the hardware design.
On the software side, the phone is fantastic. I prefer Nokia Maps to Bing, which I’ve personally told Microsoft just never works well for what I need a mapping app for. Windows Phone 7.5 is beautiful and efficient, it just needs more great apps. And while the Lumia 800 camera didn’t blow me away like I was hoping it would, it was satisfactory and better than the camera my iPhone 4.
The Lumia 800 left a lot to be desired in the data throughput department, but rumor has it Nokia is working with AT&T on a 4G LTE device that could be unveiled during CES in January. For now, I think most U.S. Windows Phone lovers should check out the HTC Titan, the Samsung Focus S or the Samsung Focus Flash, which will be much more affordable with a subsidy. If price doesn’t concern you, however, the Lumia 800 should be at the top of that list. The day Nokia launches a Windows Phone on a U.S. carrier with faster data, an aluminum body, and perhaps a few color choices, I’ll no doubt be impatiently waiting for my FedEx delivery person all over again.

Nokia Lumia 800 getting update for its camera

The camera on the back of the Nokia Lumia 800 is supposed to be taking great pictures. After all, it has an 8MP sensor and a Carl Zeiss-certified lens. But something is not working out right and Nokia's Damian Dinning sent out a tweet to say that an update is coming although there is no specific date in mind. Last month, when Nokia stated that an update had repaired a problem that the phone was having with the battery, the Finnish based manufacturer admitted that there was an issue with the camera and that it would not be overlooked.

This tweet tells us an update is coming for the Nokia Lumia 800

Apparently the problems with the camera are a software issue which is why Nokia is hopeful that this update on the way will allow the camera to reach its full potential. Late last month, word started leaking out about problems that Nokia Lumia 800 users were having with settings to the camera.

Recently we told you about a camera cowboy shootout between the shooters on the Nokia Lumia 800, the Sony Xperia S, the Samsung Galaxy S II and the Apple iPhone 4S. The Lumia 800's camera made a good showing, but finished behind the Sony Xperia S as far as how quickly the camera app took to open on the phone.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich hitting the Samsung Galaxy S II on March 1st?

Put on your rumor hats, folks, as we have a nice one for you today. Eldar Murtazin has once again tweeted the deets about Samsung’s plans and this time it’s concerning the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Galaxy S II.
According to Murtazin’s tweet, Galaxy S II users can expect to see the rollout of Ice Cream Sandwich on March 1st through Samsung Kies. This would definitely be quite a treat for users but we’re going to assume that if the update is available on March 1st, it will likely be limited to the international GSM version only. It looks like Samsung has learned its lesson from previous mistakes when it comes to updating its handsets in a timely fashion but we would seriously be floored if the update was available to US Galaxy S II owners on March 1st as well.
Expect all of that Ice Cream Sandwich look and feel to be mostly concealed by Samsung custom user interface, TouchWiz. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you like the custom UI, which isn’t the worst we’ve ever seen but you’ll be a bit disappointed if you’re expecting Android 4.0 to shine through a lot. We do know that Google is attempting to make certain elements of the operating system consistent from device to device, but this is limited to certain applications and menus for the time being.
If we can’t get the Galaxy S III during Mobile World Congress, then maybe Android 4.0 for the Galaxy S II will hold some over until the time comes. Either way, we’re just glad to see Ice Cream Sandwich going to a handset that’s not a part of the Nexus line officially.
We’ll be in Barcelona during March 1st, so there may be a chance that we get to see some Ice Cream Sandwiched Galaxy S II devices floating around in that time. Stay tuned!

Nokia N9 might dual-boot into ICS soon

The first and only MeeGo smartphone, the Nokia N9, might soon turn into an Android device. Well, if you’re into some hacking - Alexey Roslyakov of the NITDroid team has posted a picture of ICS running on the Nokia N9. The title is “progress” and even though it’s still just an early build with its fair share of issues, it seems that work is advancing.

The NITDroid team is also working on porting Android 4.0 to the good old Maemo-running N900.

Now, one thing that’s particularly great about the combination of a Nokia N9 and MeeGo is the combination of a device with no physical buttons with an operating system that requires none. The handset also sports a fairly large 3.9-inch display, so you’d have some extra space for the navigational controls.

Finally, Roslyakov mentions that you can put your worries aside when it comes to MeeGo on the N9 and Android - both operating systems could run in a dual-boot setup in the future. Here’s to hoping.

 

Nokia Lumia 900 rumored specs reiterated: expected to come with LTE

In the last couple of days, the Nokia Lumia 900 has repeatedly leaked with images here and there confirming a larger Nokia Windows Phone than the current 3.7-inch breed. And today PocketNow seems to have confirmed all previous rumors and repeats much of our perception about the Lumia 900 with more certainty. 

The Lumia 900, code-named Eloko, will arrive with both AT&T 3G and T-Mobile AWS 1700 Mhz band support, which hints that it could get released on both carriers. The handset will allegedly come with 4.3-inch WVGA display, 512MB of RAM, an 8-megapixel camera, and a 1830mAh battery.

The Lumia 900, previously referred to as Nokia Ace, will be a relatively heavy device tipping the scales at 5.64 ounces (160 g), which is possibly and hopefully because LTE is included. The device has a 0.47-inch (12mm) thick profile. The rest of the details are expected in the coming days, as the industry gears up for CES, the biggest consumer electronics show for the year. We’ll be there, so stay tuned.

T-Mobile New Year sale: Amaze 4G, Galaxy S II and more

T-Mobile is kicking off the new year with a major sale on many of its smartphones and tablets but the deals will only be available this weekend, so get to getting if you want a new T-Mobile 4G device.

Some of the deals are better than others but in general, you can walk out of the store with a a cool smartphone like the Amaze 4G for about $50 when you sign up for a new, two-year plan. Yes, there’s one of those dreaded mail-in rebates and there’s also a monthly payment but you’ll still save a few bucks for a really nice smartphone.

The sale also includes the HTC Radar 4G, the Samsung Galaxy S II, the my Touch Q, the Sonic 4G Mobile hotspot, the T-Mobile Springboard and the LG G-Slate. Additionally, there will be some specials online, so check out T-Mobile this weekend if you’re looking for a new phone.