HTC Kingdom Could Be Headed To US Cellular As HTC Hero S

The HTC Kingdom has been leaked for awhile now, showing up in leaked ROM and images like the one above. While it was hard to peg the device to a specific U.S. release, we’ve pretty much known all the in’s and out’s as far as specs go. A 1.2GHz single-core Snapdragon will be powering this thing along with 768MB of RAM, a 4.3-inch qHD display and 5MP rear/1.3MP front facing cameras. So where’s this device headed?

Well, apparently the Kingdom could be on it’s way to Alltel Wireless as the HTC Acquire, Sprint as the HTC Evo Design 4G and now — thanks to a custom gel case that appeared online — US Cellular as the HTC Hero S. You’ll notice the gel case in question is compatible with all of those devices and although the site doesn’t specifically link the “Hero S” to US Cellular, Pocketnow is reporting that one of the tipsters has confirmed it.
[Via Pocketnow]

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Motorola Electrify headed to US Cellular

Well folks, it looks like U.S. Cellular users can look forward to an excellent phone coming as soon as this month. Better known as the Motorola Photon 4G the name will instead be the Electrify and goes right in line with previous statements from US Cellular regarding an upcoming 4.3″ device from Motorola. It looks like they’ve had this dual-core powerhouse planned for a while.

US Cellular is aiming to keep up with the big guys in mobile and have said they have even more Android phones coming soon. With the Motorola Electrify you get a top tier Android devices running with a NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core 1.0 Ghz CPU, 1GB RAM, a 4.3″ qHD 540 x 960 display, 16GB internal storage and a beefy 8MP camera on the rear with dual LED flash. We also are happy to mention the kickstand since everyone loved that on the EVO and Thunderbolt.

With US Cellular making it official today we can expect to see the Motorola Electrify within the next few weeks to line up with the “coming this month” statement. With a kickstand, HDMI-Out, and Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread what else do you need? It will be offered for just $199 with a new 2-year contract per the usual rules but sadly that is after a $100 mail in rebate. Don’t we all love rebates? With no official date set yet it should be here shortly so those on US Cellular don’t have to wait long so stay tuned.

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Smartphone use in US rises 10 percent over the last three months

We all know that smartphones are everywhere and becoming even more affordable than anyone ever thought.  You might have to pay $50 or more for two-years to get one in your possession, but you do get one.  The United States has seen a large increase in smartphone use over the last 3 months among those ages 13 and higher.  A report out from ComScore shows that US smartphone use has gone up about 10 full percent points in the last three months ending in July.  ComScore is an agency that tracks business analytics and measures statistic of various digital measurements.  In this report the company was looking at the mobile phone industry during the months of May, June and July 2011.


In those three months, 234 million smartphone users in the United States above the age of 13 used their smartphones.  With this information, ComScore was also able to see what providers, operating systems and manufactures led the pack.  With over 25 percent of the pie was Samsung, which had the most US subscribers and that was up 1 percent.  LG, Motorola, Apple and RIM came along right after Samsung and all with their subscriber counts rising over the last three months.

What operating system was the most used over that time period?  If you guessed Android, you would be right and the market share for Android was up over 5 percent to 41.8 percent total market share.  Apple is still trailing Android with about 27 percent, but their numbers were up also.  RIM, Microsoft and Symbian were the next three companies on the list and their numbers were on the rise as well.  The overall growth of smartphone use was evident with the 82.2 million smartphone users during those three months, which was up 10 percent from the previous three months.

All of this information is quite interesting to say the least and other stats available on the report included social networking usage found that over 30 percent of users visit social networking or blog sites on their phone.  Of the smartphone users, 27 percent used games and about 20 percent listened to music on their smartphones.  Text messaging is also the most popular activity on smartphones with over 70 percent of the users engaging in texting.  Browsing the Web was up to 41 percent and downloading apps went up almost 3 points to 40 percent.

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Android phones to be used to as wearable computers for the US Army

The Army has a program called Nett Warrior and that was to allow a solider to be equipped with advanced technology that could help them in the heat of battle.  Some mentioned that a smartphone could do the trick and a couple of months ago it seemed that the Army was not going to be talking about smartphones within the program.  All that has changed since the Army has put the program on hold as they decide whether or not the smartphone could provide the same technology as the eight pounds of equipment that was first lined up for the soldiers.  A smartphone weighing just ounces could be a big relief to those on the battlefield provided it can give the same assistance.
Google’s Android operating system is going to get a little boost in market share as the Army has mentioned they want the smartphones that are part of the program to be powered by Android.  At this point about a year ago, other companies were trying to get designs together for the Army that included mapping tools, eye displays and radios that included more than enough cable.  Granted, there are plenty of requirements for a smartphone to take the place of a lot of other equipment.  Not to mention that soldiers go places where there is little to no cell tower reception.  Other than having to tap into the Army battle network wirelessly, tether to radio’s via USB, but other features like GPS, a compass and light sensors are already standard features on most smartphones.
Touch screen devices are going to have to be receptive of fire retardant gloves, dust storms and other wet conditions.  Most rugged smartphones can already provide this type of technology and others would just have to be changed a little bit to comply with that.
The incoming Chief of Staff will have to decide whether a smartphone will become a standard piece of equipment for soldiers and in that respect there is less need for the Nett Warrior separately.  With the Army about to open their own app store soon, it would only make sense that they get a smartphone as part of the normal equipment for those on the battlefield.

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Best Buy memo points to October 21 US iPhone 5 release

A source of GoAndroid has leaked details of an internal Best Buy memo, which includes a significant hint at the iPhone 5’s release date. For those in the US, at least.

The memo explains that an “Apple Fixture Installation” will take place at 6am on the morning of Friday October 21. Interesting.

There’s nothing more specific in the memo, and no mention of the iPhone 5 per se, but October is being touted by many rumour mongers as the arrival date for Apple’s next smartphone.
The tipster explains that a 6am start with a manager on hand is quite unusual, but that a similar thingy happened when the iPhone 4 touched down last year.
Further backing up the idea of an October 21 release for the iPhone 5, the tipster revealed that Best Buy Mobile managers will attend a meeting on October 10 to discuss “upcoming BIG release dates”.
Considering Apple has yet to fire out a save-the-date, October 21 is looking like as good a guess as any for now. Salt? Maybe just a sprinkle.

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Why could the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 get banned in the United States?

According to Apple, Samsung and their Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet PC should have listened to the old radio serials and Lamar Cranston of The Shadow. Popular in the 1930s, Lamar Cranston was a wealthy man about town who kept his secret identity as The Shadow hidden from the criminals he foiled. With an ESP-like quality to read minds, the tagline opening every radio broadcast was, “What evil lurks in the minds of men? The Shadow knows!” Evidently the boys and girls at Apple believe they have Lamar Cranston’s mind reading ability when it comes to the design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet PC.
After a successful victory earning an injunction on all sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet in Germany until September 9, at which time the judge will reveal her final ruling in the matter after both sides present their arguments, an Australian court recently received a similar lawsuit by Apple. In Australia, Samsung voluntarily withdrew their product while the judges hash out an outcome. In both cases, Apple claims that the insidious execs at Samsung created a product intentionally close to identical to that of their massive runaway Tablet hit, the iPad 2.

And certainly, if any company wanted to guarantee sales, copying what is the best Tablet by far would not be a bad idea, were it not for copyright infringement. And that is exactly what Apple is claiming. Do the two tablets appear similar? Yes, but so do several 10 inch tablets. And whether you side with one manufacturer or the other, the inevitable question remains. If Germany and Australia outlaw the sale of Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab tablets, can filing of an American lawsuit by Apple be very far behind.
While there is no current injunction on sales in the US, an Apple victory in that regards would be a win of mammoth proportions, and would no doubt be the first of a string of allegations by consumer-electronics firms everywhere. With the final German ruling less than a week away, the Australian judge ruling in that venue will certainly no doubt be taking notice of the German outcome. And that means that any future US judges would no doubt use those two courts as precedents for their decision. Return here regularly for daily updates as we receive them.

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Samsung has no plans to bring Galaxy Tab 7.7 or Galaxy Note to the US

If you watched the hands on videos we posted up yesterday about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Note and though you would like to get one of those new tablets for yourself, we have some bad news. Apparently, those tablets will not be coming to the US. That means if you want one in the States you will need to import or go without.

The confirmation that the tablets would not be coming to the US came by way of a company statement that said there are “no plans” to launch either tablet in the US. Perhaps that could change if a carrier shows interest in either device. That doesn’t seem likely to happen though with all the other tablet offerings already available unless these two can be offered at a low price.
Davies speculated yesterday that the Tab 7.7 would still come to the US lacking its voice service capability. That doesn’t seem likely at this point. With Samsung saying it has no plans for the US it has likely shopped the tablet around and found no carrier interest at this time.
[via MobileBurn]

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Nielsen: Android takes 40% of U.S. smartphone market in July; iOS flat, RIM down a point

Google’s Android platform gained once again during the three-month period ending in July, increasing it’s share by 1% over second-quarter totals to grab 40% of the U.S. smartphone market. Apple’s iOS stayed flat at 28% and RIM’s BlackBerry OS lost one point from June-quarter figures to fall to 19%. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone combined to take 8% of the market — with Windows Phone responsible for just 1% on its own — and the ghost of smartphone operating systems past is now buried somewhere in the “Other” category. Nielsen also notes that 40% of mobile phone users between May and July of this year owned smartphones, and Android topped iOS in the firm’s survey of which smartphone platform users intend to buy next. From “innovators” to “late adopters,” each consumer group Nielsen polled but one — “early adopters” — found Android to be the most appealing OS for their next purchases. A chart outlining consumers’ next desired smartphone operating system follows below.

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AT&T tempts FCC, promises to bring 5,000 jobs back to U.S. if T-Mobile merger is approved

AT&T said on Wednesday that it promises to bring 5,000 of its outsourced call center jobs back to the United States if its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA is approved by the FCC. AT&T also promised that it will not layoff any AT&T or T-Mobile call center employee who is employed at the time of the merger. In addition, AT&T will invest $8 billion in its U.S. infrastructure and the Economic Policy Institute has suggested that move could provide up to 96,000 new jobs. AT&T made its announcement hours before the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit in an attempt to block the merger. “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the Justice Department said. AT&T responded and said that “there was no indication” from the DOJ that a lawsuit was being contemplated. “We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court,” AT&T Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel Wayne Watts said, noting that AT&T will continue to fight for the merger’s approval. Read on for the full press release from AT&T.

AT&T to Bring 5,000 Call Center Jobs Back to U.S. Following T-Mobile Merger Closing
Commits Merger Will Not Result in Job Losses for Existing U.S. Wireless Call Center Employees of T-Mobile and AT&T
Largest Return of Jobs by Any U.S. Company Since 2008
DALLAS, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today committed that after closing its proposed merger with T-Mobile USA, it will bring back 5,000 wireless call center jobs to the United States that today are outsourced to other countries.
Today’s commitment results from AT&T developing detailed analysis focused specifically on identifying opportunities with the T-Mobile merger to bring good-paying wireless call center jobs back to the United States.
In addition to bringing jobs back, AT&T committed that the merger will not result in any job losses for U.S.-based wireless call center employees of T-Mobile USA or AT&T, who are on the payroll when the merger closes.
The 5,000 new wireless call center jobs at AT&T will offer among the nation’s most highly competitive wages and benefits. AT&T, which has not yet determined where in the U.S. the new jobs will be located, is the nation’s largest employer of full-time union employees and the only unionized major U.S. wireless carrier.
“At a time when many Americans are struggling and our economy faces significant challenges, we’re pleased that the T-Mobile merger allows us to bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States and significantly increase our investment here,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T Chairman and CEO. “This merger and today’s commitment are good for our employees, our customers and our country.”
Today’s announcement represents the largest commitment by an individual American company to bring jobs back to the U.S. since the economic crisis began in 2008.
Also, AT&T has committed as part of the T-Mobile merger to increase its U.S. infrastructure investment by more than $8 billion.  According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute that was commissioned by the Communications Workers of America, AT&T’s increased investment is estimated to produce up to approximately 96,000 new U.S. jobs.
AT&T said today’s jobs commitment does not change its previous guidance on the expected overall merger synergies.
Beyond the jobs created, AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA provides a fast, efficient and certain solution to the impending exhaustion of wireless spectrum in many markets, which limits both companies’ ability to meet the ongoing explosive customer demand for mobile broadband. The uniquely complementary nature of AT&T and T-Mobile’s network assets will allow the combined company to add wireless network capacity – the functional equivalent of new spectrum – sooner than any other alternative.
This additional wireless network capacity will enable AT&T to offer better service — fewer dropped and blocked calls, and faster data speeds. Plus, the economic scale, additional spectrum and other benefits resulting from the merger will enable AT&T to deliver high-speed 4G LTE mobile broadband service to 97 percent of the U.S. population, or 55 million more Americans than it would without the merger. Reaching 97 percent of the population with LTE will create a much more extensive and robust mobile broadband platform that will fuel growth and investment throughout the country.

The benefits of the AT&T and T-Mobile merger have been recognized by numerous elected officials throughout the country, including 27 governors, more than 100 mayors, 11 state attorneys general, 79 Democratic Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and more than 150 chambers of commerce from 40 states, as well as a dozen labor unions and dozens of high-tech companies, such as Facebook, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Oracle.

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Department of Justice Files to Block T-Mobile Buyout, AT&T Responds

The U.S. Government and the Department of Justice apparently aren’t up for allowing AT&T to acquire T-Mobile. Today the DOJ has filed a formal complaint and anti-trust case against AT&T in the acquisition in an attempt to stop it from moving forward. AT&T was quick to respond so check out more details below.

Today AT&T received some bad news and apparently they weren’t expecting this once bit according to statements already made by AT&T this morning. The DOJ antri-trust complain clearly states that they do not agree on this union and here’s a quote from the filing:

AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the U.S. said.

While we knew many were opposed to the idea I don’t think anyone was expecting this. We recently saw the FCC looking for users to comment and share their opinion and even other carriers were quick to oppose the deal. While this is a huge blow and will add some serious delay, the deal isn’t completely a lost cause but it didn’t get any easier that is for sure.
AT&T has since released a statement and they don’t sound too happy, but they do seem a bit confident still.

We are surprised and disappointed by today’s action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated.
We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed. The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court.
At the end of the day, we believe facts will guide any final decision and the facts are clear. This merger will:
Help solve our nation’s spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions.
Allow AT&T to expand 4G LTE mobile broadband to another 55 million Americans, or 97% of the population;
Result in billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most.
We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court.

We have heard many government officials and senators comment on this acquisition I don’t think many were expecting the DOJ to come out like this, either way this entire story is still developing so stay tuned as more details trickle in.
[via Bloomberg]
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U.S. government sues to block AT&T, T-Mobile merger

The U.S. government sued to block AT&T Inc. (T)’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., saying the deal would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless market. AT&T shares fell as much as 5 percent.
In the complaint filed today in federal court in Washington, the U.S. is seeking a declaration that Dallas-based AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE), would violate U.S. antitrust law. The U.S. also asked for a court order blocking any arrangement implementing the deal.
“AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market,” the U.S. said in its filing.
Should regulators reject the deal, which would create the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, AT&T would have to pay Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash. It would also provide T-Mobile USA with wireless spectrum in some regions and reduced charges for calls into AT&T’s network, for a total package valued at as much as $7 billion, Deutsche Telekom said this month.
Philipp Schindera, a spokesman at Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom, declined to immediately comment on the filing. Jessica Smith, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment on the suit. Michael Balmoris, an AT&T spokesman, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail and phone calls seeking comment.

Shares Drop

AT&T fell $1.02, or 3.4 percent, to $28.60 at 10:55 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading after declining as much as $1.49. Deutsche Telekom American depositary receipts dropped as much as 6.4 percent, to $12.93.
The purchase of Bellevue, Washington-based T-Mobile would combine the second- and fourth-largest carriers to create a new market leader ahead of No. 1 Verizon Wireless. The new company would have dwarfed current No. 3 carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., which argued against the deal. Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint’s shares jumped as much as 9.9 percent.
Some U.S. lawmakers have said the deal may reduce competition and raise consumer costs. The Federal Communications Commission has given itself more time to study new data presented by AT&T.

Economic Models

AT&T in a July 25 filing at the FCC submitted new economic models that it said showed the merger would lower prices and increase service in large metropolitan markets. The models offer “further detailed support” for arguments that the merger will lessen strains on the company’s wireless network, lower costs and increase quality, AT&T said in the filing.
“Given the size of the cancellation fee that was negotiated into his agreement, AT&T has the incentive to fight,” said Andrew Gavil, a law professor at Howard University in Washington. “The fact that the Justice Department is challenging the deal doesn’t mean they won’t negotiate a resolution at some point.”
The case is U.S. v. AT&T Inc., 11-01560, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington).

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Samsung Galaxy S II “Big in America” Ad Released

The folks at Samsung have released a brand new advertisement for the Samsung Galaxy S II, aka one of the best selling phones in history, showing it off in several places in the world ending up letting us know that it’s coming to the USA soon! It’s big in Europe, it’s big in Asia, it’s big all over the world they say, “and soon it will be big in America.” Is this again some indication that the Samsung Unpacked at IFA 2011 trailers were indeed speaking about something having to do with the Samsung Galaxy S II or an upgrade? We shall see!


What this new advertisement shows us is that the device will be here in America soon having been massively successful around the world up unto this point. Several placements of the phone are done showing absurd combinations of real people or landmarks and a video of a replacement part on the smartphone. One thing to note that many radical religion-wild viewers might have a problem with is the RIO Jesus being covered up by a unicycler while the words “Millions of devoted followers” on top.



What do you think? Massively offensive or just harmless fun? We’re majorly on the harmless fun side, and certainly can’t wait for the device to be released here in the states. Any luck and we’ll be seeing this device inside a month. Another oddity is in the tags on this video as it appears on YouTube:

Samsung
Samsung Galaxy S II
Galaxy S II
GSII
Android
Smart Phone
android
mobile
wireless
cell phone
iphone
phones
nokia
touch
review
gps
wii
handy
google

Perhaps the Nokia and Wii tags are just to gain some extra attention – but maybe something more notorious is in the works? We’ll be in NYC, New York on the 29th of August to see what all the business is about – stick with us here on ANdroid Community for the sweetest coverage!
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Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Rolling to more cities coming September 15th

While Verizon just got done flipping the switch and adding 15 more cities to 4G LTE on the 18th of August, it appears they aren’t looking to slow down any time soon. Today they’ve already announced another slew of cities that will be getting the same upgrade and improvements. Verizon has been steadily updating their LTE network since it launched and it continues to grow at a very fast pace. At this rate AT&T will be very behind come October or November like we’ve been hearing rumors on regarding the launch.

Come September 15th Verizon is adding another 15 or so markets to their LTE line-up. It appears they might be rolling it out in stages of 15 or so cities at a time, although we’ve seen much larger groups at once before. New cities this go around include Canton and Cleveland, Ohio and even Fargo, ND. Who remembers the awesome movie Fargo? I sure do.
Next in line for 4G LTE include:
-Fargo, ND
-Moorhead, MN
-Rockford, IL
-Moline, IL
-Rock Island, IL
-Bloomington/Normal, IL
-Champaign/Urbana, IL
-Springfield, IL
-Mansfield, OH
-Canton, OH
-Lima, OH
-Iowa City, IA
-Davenport, IA
-Bettendorf, IA
-Blacksburg, VA
With competitors slowly launching or even updating existing networks, Verizon adding a solid 15 or more every few weeks seems to be a great system so far. They are leaving the competition in the dust and at this rate things wont be changing any time soon either. We can expect to see another announcement with a similar list sometime shortly in September outlining the next cities for the upgrade. Keep em coming Verizon!

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Android, iOS gain U.S. market share in Q2 while BlackBerry slides, NPD says

Android’s lead in the U.S. smartphone market was extended further in the second quarter of 2011 according to leading market research firm The NPD Group. The firm on Monday released its second-quarter Mobile Phone Track report, which shows that Android devices accounted for 52% of smartphones sold in the U.S. last quarter. Apple’s iOS-powered iPhone showed slight gains in the second quarter as well, representing 29% of smartphone sales. RIM’s BlackBerry platform slid in the quarter according to NPD, dropping to an 11% share of the U.S. smartphone market, while Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile and webOS sales were flat at less than 5% each. NPD also believes that Google’s planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility will not deter its major Android partners, as some have speculated. “Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors,” said Ross Rubin, The NPD Group’s executive director of industry analysis, in a statement. “Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.” NPD’s full press release follows below.

The NPD Group: As Android Solidifies Lead, Google Acquisition Has Potential to Revitalize Flagging Motorola
Patent-rich handset pioneer’s second quarter share fell to gains by Apple, Samsung and LG.
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, August TK, 2011 – According to The NPD Group, a leading market research company, Google’s Android operating system (OS) continued to dominate U.S. smartphone market share, accounting for 52 percent of units sold in the second quarter (Q2) of 2011. Like Android, Apple’s iPhone OS (iOS) experienced slight quarterly gain rising to 29 percent in Q2; however, BlackBerry OS share fell to 11 percent, as Windows Phone 7, Windows Mobile, and webOS held steady at less than five percent of the market each.
“Google’s acquisition of Motorola shifts the balance of power in the handset-patent conflict between Google and its operating system competitors,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “Android’s momentum has made for a large pie that is attractive to Motorola’s Android rivals, even if they must compete with their operating system developer.”
Motorola’s overall mobile phone market share declined 3 percentage points, from 12 percent in Q2 2010 to 9 percent in Q2 2011. The company’s share of the smartphone market also declined from 15 percent to 12 percent. Motorola’s year-over-year unit share of Android OS sales halved from 44 percent in Q2 of last year to 22 percent in Q2 of 2011, as Samsung and LG both experienced substantial gains.
“Much as it did in the feature phone market in the RAZR era, Motorola is experiencing increased competition from Samsung and LG in the smartphone market,” Rubin said. “Closer ties to the heart of Android can help inspire new paths to differentiation.”
Growing opportunity in prepaid smartphones
Beyond the four largest national carriers, Motorola can also make up ground in the rapidly growing pre-paid smartphone market. Based on the latest information from NPD’s “Mobile Phone Track,” one in five new handsets acquired in Q2 was on a prepaid plan, and carriers offering prepaid mobile phones continued to grow their smartphone portfolios. In Q2 2010 just 8 percent of prepaid phones were smartphones, but in Q2 2011 that number jumped to 22 percent.
“Android is also leading the charge in the rapidly growing prepaid smartphone market,” Rubin said. “This was once a key segment for Motorola that the company has an opportunity to reclaim as prepaid carriers build their smartphone portfolios.”

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Nokia to undercut Android prices to gain U.S. market share

Nokia’s head of North American sales Chris Weber sat down in an interview Business Insider recently and explained how the Finnish company will regain its market share in the United States by writing “one of the greatest turnaround stories in history.” Weber said that Nokia will release a number of new smartphone models running Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango operating system and will compete with Android by pricing several of them lower than the cheapest Android models. Weber reconfirmed that Nokia is still on track to release its first Windows Phone handset this year, likely the SeaRay device we’ve seen leaked, but said the majority of its phones will begin to land next year. Business Insider also said that Nokia is deeply integrated with Microsoft’s plans for a complete tablet, PC and mobile phone ecosystem, which loosely suggests Nokia may have a tablet in the works, too.
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Samsung Galaxy S II official US launch on August 29

Samsung has scheduled a press event on August 29, 2011, in New York City, and judging by the conspicuous “II” on the invitation sent to Android Community, it looks like the Galaxy S II is finally ready to make its US debut. The “major product announcement” the invite promises is one that has been much-anticipated by US Android-lovers: the Galaxy S II has already set sales records for Samsung in Europe and Asia.

In fact, Samsung has had the Galaxy S II on sale outside the US for several months now – we reviewed the European version back in April - and it’s already on sale in Canada, too. You can still see the appeal: a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 8-megapixel camera with Full HD 1080p video recording still leaves the Galaxy S II at the top of its game.
We’ll be headed to New York for all the details on August 29, when hopefully Samsung will tell us exactly when the GSII will go on sale and for how much. Meanwhile, if you’re in the UK remember we’re giving away two Galaxy S II units courtesy of Vodafone!

Device Specifications and Information

Device Info

Device Name : Galaxy S II

Manufactuer : Samsung

Carrier : AT&T

Announced Date : February 13, 2011

Release Date : April 28, 2011

Also Known As :

Display

• Screen Size : 4.27 Inch


• Resolution : 480x800


• Screen Type : Super AMOLED Plus

Dimension & Weight

• Height : 4.93 Inch


• Width : 2.6 Inch


• Depth : .33 Inch


• Weight : 116 Grams

Battery & Power

• Battery Type:


• Lithium Ion

• Battery Capacity : 1650 mAh


• Talk Time : NA


• Stand By Time : 710 hours

Software

• Android OS:


• 2.3.x

• Audio Playback:


• AAC


• AAC+


• MP3

• Video Playback:


• h.263


• h.264 / AVC


• MPEG-4 (MP4)

• Messaging:


• SMS


• MMS

Hardware

CPU : Exynos

CPU Clock Speed : 1200 Mhz

Core : 2

Ram : 1000 MB

Internal Storage : 16 GB

Front Facing Camera :

Camera Resolution :8 MP

• External Storage:


• MicroSD


• MicroSDHC

• Camera Features:


• Auto focus


• Flash


• 1080p Video Recording


• 720p Video Recording

• Sensors:


• Accelerometer


• Proximity

QWERTY :

Cellular Network

• Network Technology:


• GSM

• GSM Band:


• 850


• 900


• 1800


• 1900

Device Connectivity

• Wi-Fi:


• 802.11b


• 802.11g


• 802.11n

• Bluetooth:


• Bluetooth 3.0

• Location Features:


• Compass


• GPS


• Cellular location


• Wi-Fi location

FM Radio :

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