HTC Ruby springs another leak

It’s been an odd journey for the HTC Ruby. It was originally dismissed as a codename for the HTC Arrive, essentially the US version of our QWERTY-rocking HTC 7 Pro. But it seems that the HTC Ruby is, in fact, very much its own beast, boasting a spec sheet that threatens to punch most other smartphones in the gob, with a kick to the groin thrown in for good measure.

 There’s a range of shots and a whole bunch of specs to get hot and bothered about.
A previous leak showed the HTC Ruby in white, but it appears to have done a reverse Michael Jackson. Fortunately for the HTC Ruby, if you wanna be my smartphone it don’t matter if you’re black or white.
And what of these specs? How does a 4.3in 960 x 540 qHD display with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor sound? Throw in an 8MP camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB storage and Android 2.3 with Sense 3.5, and we’re sold.

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New Motorola Defy+ smartphone to launch this month in Europe markets

Apple’s successful appeal for a second injunction to block the Samsung Galaxy Tab series in a court in Germany has snatched away a chance from Samsung to showcase its latest tablet devices at one of the world’s largest consumer electronics shows.
The South Korea based Samsung Electronics, which is the closest competitor of Apple in the tablet market, has recently pulled out its newly released Galaxy tab 7.7 from the IFA electronics show which is being held in Berlin after a court in Dusseldorf accepted Apple’s call for a countrywide ban on the Samsung tablets on 2^nd September, said a Seoul based spokesperson of Samsung named James Chung.
Chung, however, did not confirm if the court orders had reached Samsung yet. An Apple spokesperson named Steve Park, meanwhile, could not provide any immediate statements on the ruling.
Chung said that Samsung has full respect for the decision of the court, adding that the South Korean electronics giant believes that it will severely affect the choice for the consumers in Germany. He said that Samsung will try out all avenues, which include legal action, to defend its rights for intellectual property in the country.

Apple and Samsung are currently engaged in legal conflicts across three different continents, as Apple, which is also one of Samsung’s biggest customers for displays and chips, has alleged that the Galaxy range of devices have copied various design features of the iPhones and the iPad. Just last month, the Dusseldorf court had awarded Apple a temporary ban on the sales of the previous Galaxy Tab 10.1 model in all of the countries which form the European Union.
Analysts estimate that the ruling which came in August could have led to Samsung selling as many as half a million fewer tablets during the year. Samsung had earlier planned to showcase the Galaxy Tab 7.7 in addition to its other devices to this year’s edition of the IFA, which has over the last few years come to be a battleground for those companies who want to lure customers to alternatives for Apple’s iPad and iPhones.
Samsung, while it did not reveal the total number of tablets that it sold this year, has aimed to increase the sales of its tablets to more than five times this year as compared to 2010 when the first Galaxy Tab based on Google’s Android platform was released.

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Samsung announces it will not buy WebOS

Choi Gee Sung, the CEO of Samsung, has declared that the company will never think about buying the WebOS platform that was recently scrapped by HP. He said that instead of considering a move to buy the beleaguered OS, the company is planning to pursue another strategy. The Samsung head said this when he took the stage at the IFA show held this week in Berlin, adding that the South Asian electronics giant is working very hard behind the scenes in developing its own Bada mobile OS.

Samsung has had a remarkable run in the smartphone market during the last couple of years, after it released a number of very successful devices based on Google’s Android platform. However, Google’s recent acquisition of Motorola has had people reconsidering the future of the Android landscape with many of the other Android based manufacturers thinking about deploying its alternatives, which led to the speculations that the purchase of HP’s WebOS platform might help Samsung maintain its pace in the smartphone market.

However, even as Samsung attained new heights with its growing lineup of the Galaxy series based on Android, this recent announcement from its CEO means that it isn’t looking for potential replacements for the Android platform; instead, it’s considering concentrating more in its own Bada mobile platform which was chosen for its new line of the Wave smartphones.


Samsung hasn’t yet announced the expected release date or pricing for the new devices; however, it is reported to have been looking to offer the developers of mobile apps with an all new full software development kit for the Bada OS in near future.

These recent statements have also led to speculations that the renewed focus of Samsung on its own mobile platform could help the company avoid a number of its ongoing legal battles with Apple which are being fought out in courts in as many as three different continents. The company based in Cupertino California has also filed lawsuits against Samsung’s Galaxy devices across the world, thus focusing on a non-Android OS might give Samsung some respite from this legal onslaught.

There are also other reasons why Samsung could gain from a move away from Android, for an instance its fellow rival in Android based phones, HTC, has already called time on the Google OS, announcing new phones based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone Mango.

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HTC Inspire 4g Full Specs

The HTC Inspire 4G was released in January of 2011, and followed in the footsteps of the big-screen, multimedia packed 4G mindset and formula that seemingly every other smartphone manufacturer has employed this year. Make a big rectangular phone with a large, clear screen, add a powerful processor and tons of multimedia options, and the buying public will snatch it up.
And following that formula has worked well for HTC and AT&T, who offers this capable HTC 4G phone on their 4G network. Let’s take a look at the specs on this popular HTC AT&T smartphone.

Display
The screen of the Inspire is 4.3 inches, and has the four familiar Android menu buttons below it, as well as three capacitive keys. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, and offers 480 x 800 pixel resolution, with multitouch gesture support. Typical for 4G phones, a proximity sensor and a light sensor are also present.

Software and OS
On the software side, Android 2.3 is supported through an over the air upgrade, and the processor on board is a single core Snapdragon 1.0 GHz chip, backed up by 768 MB of RAM memory. Android’s 2.3 Gingerbread operating system is the most current Android operating system to date. The HTC Sense user interface overlays the Android system, and provides one of the most efficient and simple UIs of all mobile handsets.

Camera
The HTC Inspire 4G also offers an eight megapixel rear facing camera, with geo-tagging, special effects, autofocus and dual LED flash. The ability to record video in 720p high definition is also on board.

Extras
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, microSD and microUSB slots are also present, and by way of DLNA tethering, HTC Inspire 4G owners can wirelessly send videos, movies and games to a DLNA capable TV monitor for enjoyment on a bigger screen. Full Adobe flash player support is provided as well.
Sprint and Verizon have become very aggressive with the pricing of their first-generation 4G handsets as of late. AT&T has followed suit, and dropped the retail price of the HTC Inspire 4G to $29 with a two-year activation. It is hard to call the HTC Inspire 4G a value or budget priced handset, however, at a price significantly in the bottom half of the 4G retail pricing structure for most handsets, that is exactly what this Android smartphone is.  Find out more information about the technical specifications, functions, and features in this HTC Inspire 4G Review.

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One smartphone takes “Spider” concept to be a tablet, gaming device and laptop?

 

Korea’s KT telecommunications provider was showing off a new device that takes three popular devices and makes the work as one.  The project called, “Spider Concept” combines the Spider smartphone running the Android Gingerbread operating system with a custom user interface.  Take any other peripherals and connect it to the Spider phone and you have a smartphone that can work like a handheld gaming device, tablet computer and laptop all in one.  This concept could be intriguing to those that have one of each of these devices and would like to gain the power of having them all work as one device.

The Android powered Spider smartphone comes with a huge 4.5-inch screen at 1280 x 800 resolution and a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor.  The phone sports an 8MP camera on the back and a 3MP camera on the front side that capture in full HD with 16GB of internal memory for storing images and video.  This phone is just the power center for all of the devices and all you have to do is insert the phone into the tablet, laptop or gaming device shell and the phone does all the rest.
When you put the phone into the tablet shell, you immediately get a 10.1-inch screen device called the Spider PAD.  Take the phone and put it into the laptop shell and you get a larger, unknown screen size a full QWERTY keyboard and a USB drive for a mouse or other add-on device.  The other device the phone powers is the gaming device.  Take the phone and put it into the gaming kit and you have yourself a clone of the Playstation Portable gaming system.  With a D-pad on the right and four other buttons on the left and it’s all controlled via the Spider smartphone.
The launch for the KT Spider Concept has not been confirmed, but is expected to be this year in Korea.  There hasn’t been any information regarding the price of the Spider Concept kit or whether or not you will see the system launched internationally.  The company did say they will be watching closely how the device launches locally in Korea before it decides to whether it will make sense to launch it internationally.

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LG Talks Optimus 3D 2; Out Next Year, Seven Millimeters Thin?

The first smartphones with autostereoscopic screens first started showing up in Japan last year, and 2011 has seen greatly expanded availability with the release of the LG Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D. What's next for these devices? LG's Dr Henry Noh recently took the time to explain his vision for the sequel to the Optimus 3D.

Noh thinks that, in a world where it can be hard to make one smartphone stand out from another, 3D devices have a distinct advantage. To translate that advantage into increased sales, however, 3D can't come at too high of a price. For him, that means that he doesn't want to have to choose between a thin phone or 3D phone.

Noh sees a future where mainstream phones will be hitting the six-millimeter mark, and the next Optimus 3D might measure in just a hair thicker at seven. Considering the current-gen model is twelve millimeters thick, that would be a world of improvement. Noh's optimistic that LG could release such a slimmed-down Optimus 3D 2 sometime next year.

Further into the future, there might be technology that allows for 3D screens without even that one-millimeter penalty, but we think we can live with what Noh's describing for at least another year.

Source: Pocket-lint
Via: Electronista

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S Coming this September

Early last week Sony Ericsson announced the new Xperia Arc S which will be the successor to the original Arc (obviously) and now we have some official pricing and a release date. The Arc S is a beautifully thin SE Android smartphone and we should now see it hit the streets in the UK and other markets near the end of September.

The Xperia Arc S will be Sony’s new flagship offering and comes with some impressive specs. The Arc S will feature a 4.2″ LED screen with Sony’s “Reality Display” and Bravia Engine technology. Boosted with a 1.4 Ghz Snapdragon processor, 8.1 MP camera as well as what Sony is calling 3D and 2D sweep panorama photography. The processor while still single-core is cranked to 1.4 Ghz vs the 1.0 on the previous model.

According to Clove Blog the SE Xperia Arc S will start shipping on September 26th and will come in both a white and midnight blue color option. The Arc S will come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread as well and should hit the market for around £350 or $560 US dollars. For now this is a UK launch but should hit other regions shortly.
[via Clove Blog]

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Google Voice Update Brings Tablet Support

Who wants some Honeycomb optimized 10.1″ Google Voice on their tablet? You are now in luck because Google recently finally pushed the official Google Voice update out that enabled tablet support. While we saw this with sideloading recently this build is final and available now in the Android Market bringing native tablet support.

The update brings Voice to version 0.4.2.36 and now users can check voice mails and send messages and more all with Google Voice on their Android Honeycomb tablets. I have seen this discussed plenty in the past as to why Google has yet to bring a tablet version, same argument applies to Google+ that still doesn’t have a native tablet app either. For wanting to push tablets Google doesn’t seem to be helping the Honeycomb app market much.
As well as a few bug fixes and minor improvements not much has changed with the latest Voice other than the above mentioned tablet support. The user interface has a few changes as well as takes use of that context menu we all know and love at the top of our honeycomb slates. Head on down to the market and give it the install, or sideload it just for fun if you’d like.
[via Android Market]

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iPhone 5 launch date: October 5 [Best Buy leak]

According to an apparent leak from a Best Buy employee to thisismynext, the retailer is going to install some Apple-related fixtures at 6am in the morning of October 5. From there, it’s not a big leap to speculate that this corresponds to the upcoming iPhone 5 launch, although nothing says it explicitly. That would be somewhat consistent with the late September / early October launch that has been rumored for some time now. For instance, the iPhone 5 is said to be launching on October 9 in New Zealand. Historically, Apple has launched new products in that timeframe.The month of October seems poised to be rich in Cellphone news: since early August, Google is rumored to be unveiling Ice Cream Sandwich, its Android 3.x for smartphones. Microsoft is also expected to do a joint push for Windows Phone 7 with Nokia and other smartphone manufacturers.
Right now, no-one knows for sure what the next iPhone will look like, but it’s going to have a dual-core Apple A5 processor, and everything suggests that it will be larger, and slightly thinner than the iPhone 4. That could help accommodate an even larger battery and increase the comfort for touch screen gestures and typing. At the same time, Samsung just went “nuclear” in terms of size with a 5.3″ phone called the Samsung Galaxy Note.

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