HTC Inspire 4G 1st Generation Still Popular Amidst 2nd Gen 4G Handset Releases

The HTC Inspire 4G Android smartphone released on AT&T’s 4G mobile broadband network hit the mass-market in early 2011. With a big 4.3 inch screen and 1.0 GHz processor, it was immediately touted by HTC and AT&T as one of the most powerful and well-rounded smartphones in the 4G marketplace. And that was certainly true back when it was released.
But with so many second generation 4G handsets released in the last few months, many first-generation 4G phones have seen a decrease in popularity, and also in sales. However, the Inspire 4G handset has remained a popular phone, even though smartphones in the 4G arena with broader feature sets and more powerful processors have arrived, albeit at much higher retails. The Inspire sells for $29 for a two-year activation, and at that price, remains one of the lowest priced 4G handsets available.
When the HTC Inspire 4G was released, it’s large 4.3 inch screen certainly made an impact. Currently, however, 4.0 and 4.3 inch screens are the norm. That is why AT&T’s aggressive pricing for the HTC Inspire 4G is drawing such customer support. A 4G Android handset shopper does not have to lay out three figures to get a large display. The screen on the HTC Inspire 4G has a coating of scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, and the display is presented in 480 x 800 pixel resolution, a proximity sensor and a light sensor are built into the screen, and multitouch touchscreen navigation is employed.
The software set for the HTC Inspire 4G is as follows. Out-of-the-box, Google’s Android 2.2 Froyo operating system is on board, however, the Inspire 4G recently benefited from an over the air upgrade to Android’s 2.3 operating system version, Gingerbread. The single core processor is a Snapdragon MSM 8255 1.0 GHz model with 768 MB of RAM memory supporting it.
And unlike most 4G handsets of late, the HTC Inspire 4G offers only one rear facing camera, foregoing a front facing video chat camera. The rear facing camcorder delivers 8 megapixel resolution with dual LED flash, face detection, special effects, geo-tagging and autofocus, and delivers video recording capability in 720P HD.
Upgradable to 32 GB of memory, the Inspire 4G offers a microSD slot, microUSB port, DLNA wireless video out, Bluetooth stereo and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. Google delivers popular preloaded apps with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa and YouTube, and Adobe Flash media player support is also on board.

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Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman teardown photos posted at FCC

Over the past year or so, Sony Ericsson has been bringing their A-game to the Android smartphone and oddities market, and with the combination of the forever-famous Walkman brand name, they’ve got a good chance of continuing to increase business built on the Google mobile OS platform. What’s up today is an FCC listing of the Sony Ericsson media player known as Live with Walkman, a long name for an interestingly quite possibly awesome future mobile device running Android. Look like the originally announced bright white to you?

Everyone likes to see the insides of their handsets before they see the outsides in action, right? Have a look right here and see some guts! Sony Ericsson has never been known for bad looking insides, and they certainly don’t disappoint with several layers of green, black, and gold. What we know about this device right this moment is that it’s got a 5 megapixel camera on the back, a VGA camera on the front, a 3.2-inch 480 x 320 pixel resolution TFT LCD display, more than likely a 1.2 or 1.5 GHz single-core processor inside, and a big fat slew of Sony and Sony Ericsson-specifically optimized apps and sound-related features.

This device has been announced to be coming out inside the fourth quarter of 2011, all of its features appearing to sort of pale in comparison to the tip we’ve reported on the Sony Ericsson Nozomi 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and a fantastically dense-pixeled display. We’ve also got word that the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S coming inside September, and though we’re almost certainly not going to be getting Ice Cream Sandwich any time soon, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread should be pretty much a fix.
[via FCC]

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TouchPal Android keyboard alternative out of Beta, Free for Limited Time

If there’s one thing you can count on for Android, it’s an ever-increasing selection of 3rd-party keyboard alternatives. Today we’ve got word that developers at Cootek have upgraded their TouchPal keyboard out of Beta, available now for free on the Android Market. Know before we go any further that this is instantly going to be compared to SWYPE as it’s got what that app made famous on the Android platform: moving your finger across the keypad, collecting letters for words as you go. With this comes predictive text and an amazingly intelligent engine connecting all elements for the potential to “type” text as fast as possible on mobile platforms. In addition to that, this app, unlike some similar keypads on the market right this moment, is free during this first release leading up to a paid version on October 31, 2011.


This again is the first time you’re able to get access to this app without having contacted the developers directly to test, this version is solid and ready to go right this moment, and a giant list of improvements has been released to go along with this pre-cost yet full-release app. See if you can spot the differences between this and previously released keyboards:
• Unique patented technologies of TouchPal Keyboard
• TouchPal Curve – the first predictive sliding in the world!
• Intelligent next-word prediction. It may save up to 80% keystrokes.
• Magic mistyping correction on Full QWERTY layout. Blind typing is no longer a dream!
• Mixed language input allows auto language detection. No need to switch languages.
• Innovation of T+ dual-letter layout. Bigger keys than QWERTY!
• Multi-lingual support (download language packs after installation)
• Voice input (system requirement: Android 2.2 or above)
• Outstanding dictionary with online update
• Import contact list to your user dictionary
• Backup/restore user dictionary in SD card
• Slide down on keys to quickly input number and symbols
• Fantastic sliding experience
After having tested it very briefly just today I can tell you that this is certainly a professionally produced app that’s been created to compete directly with both the current stock keyboards on all versions of Android as well as 3rd party apps on the market today. As this app is completely free right this second, you simply MUST check it out if you’re looking for a new keyboard solution.
Check the app out right now on the [Android Market]
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HTC Integrates 'Attentive Phone' In Windows Phone Mango Settings

HTC has an "Attentive Phone" section build into Windows Phone Mango devices like HTC Titan and Radar. It's basically useful for natural gestures like making your phone stop ringing once you flip it over, making it quiet once you pick it up and so on.

There's also an "Attentive Phone" application available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. The app doesn't integrate with the Settings but if you have an HTC device that's running Mango (and you don't have the section built into your Settings) you can give it a try by downloading it for free.

Source: WPCentral, Marketplace

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Gets Australian Victory, Apple Told by Judge to Provide Proof

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 inch Android Tablet may benefit from a long entrenched Apple Computing unwritten law to never reveal sales numbers unless absolutely necessary. Samsung’s latest tablet has been banned for sale in Germany until claims by Apple that Samsung infringed on their copyrights can be proved or disproved. A September 9 date for the final ruling by the Judge in Germany is set. Recently, Apple sued Samsung in Australia as well with the same claims that the design and physical appearance of the Apple iPad 2 Tablet were copied by Samsung for their thin, lightweight 10.1 Tablet.
Don Reisinger of CNET.com reported that Apple is now being ordered by Australia’s federal court Judge Annabelle Bennett to show proof that the similarities in design have hurt the sales of the Apple iPad 2, which is what Apple claims. She also released a statement claiming that Apple is not presenting enough compelling evidence to allow for an injunction in Australia. Samsung has voluntarily removed the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablet PC from the marketplace as a sign of good faith, and it appears this goodwill gesture has paid off favorably. The Judge is requesting sales data to back up Apple’s claims.
Not only filing for injunctions and downright banning of the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and Australia alone, Apple has sought injunctions against their number one Tablet PC competitor in several countries and nations. Samsung has been very forthcoming with sales figures, documentation and even physical Galaxy Tab 10.1 Tablets which they gave Apple for them to inspect. Samsung even agreed to sell whichever tablet Apple accepted out of the three offered. Apple has made no decision as of yet.
Samsung has claimed that their research shows that Apple’s sales have not been hurt in the least since the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and that caused Judge Bennett to request provable sales losses by Apple. Stopping short of forcing Apple to give up this sensitive information, Judge Bennett simply stated that if Apple wants their injunction investigation to move forward, they would have to make the information available to her.
Apple has over the years been very stingy with allowing any type of numbers to be attached to the sales or speculation of sales of their popular iDevices. After their recent third-quarter declaration that they sold 9.2 5 million iPads in that time period, it may be hard for Apple to prove that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is actually hurting sales.

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Motorola Atrix 4G software upgrade update

Arriving in January of 2011, the Motorola Atrix 4G debuted as a mobile handset that could do several things at once. With the ability to act as an entry-level netbook, as a multimedia dock and as a hands-free turn by turn GPS mounted to your car’s dashboard or windshield, Motorola explained that this is was the wave of the future for mobile handsets. It has been nearly 9 months since the versatile Motorola Atrix 4G arrived, and not too many other handsets have attempted to do all that the Motorola Atrix 4G promises. The Motorola Atrix 4G recently got a software upgrade, so let’s take an in-depth look at how it affects the performance of the Atrix 4G.
The Atrix 4G received a firmware update in March to address some minor bugs, but until this recent Gingerbread update, the handset’s software has remained unchanged. The upgrade from Android’s 2.2 Froyo to 2.3 Gingerbread operating system makes some rather big changes. One is a cross-OS capability that is pretty important. You now have the ability to sideload apps from sources like Amazon or some other app marketplace, which in the past was considered an “unknown source” and was blocked.

Motorola has also upgraded the photo gallery to handle comments from Facebook and Picasa on those social networking photos, to aggregate your photos, and your friends photos from both sites as well. And an important change to the music player now gives the Atrix 4G owners the ability of music discovery. What this basically allows you is the ability to get song recommendations personalized to your library and tastes, as well as videos, news and updates customized to your settings as well.
Firefox 4.0 has been supported with this new update, which means faster web browsing, and a 50% improvement up to 1080p HD video playback, as well as Bridge access, one touch conference call capability are delivered. There are also some location-based recommendations through Facebook and Yelp which are now available. The Gingerbread software update takes place over the air and requires no action by the Motorola Atrix 4G owner.

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Citrix launches GoToMeeting app for Android

Citrix is bringing its popular GoToMeeting application/service to the Android community. Available as a free download, it provides Android device users with access to the popular mobile collaboration service, allowing them [users] to join online meetings while on the go.
Once downloaded, GoToMeeting will allow you to join meetings in seconds by clicking a link in an email or clicking the GoToMeeting icon and entering the meeting ID. And it’s not just the talk – you’ll also be able to access all of the conference materials and zoom content up to 200% by pinching the screen.
Finally, Citrix also announced the preload deal with Motorola and Verizon Wireless, which will bundle the GoToMeeting app with the newly launched DROID BIONIC smartphone…
The question now is – are you ready for mobile meetings? If so (and if you don’t have the DROID BIONIC or DROID 3, both of which have GoToMeeting preinstalled), hit the link below.
GoToMeeting (FREE) [Android Market link]

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Norton extends its “Norton Everywhere” initiative to Android tablets

Norton announced several new offerings under its “Norton Everywhere” initiative that aims to protect consumers and their families across multiple devices and platforms. The new products/services include:

• Norton Tablet Security – Available in the next few weeks, it is designed specifically for Android tablets to protect the device, privacy and all other important data against loss, theft, viruses and other threats.
• Norton Anti-Theft Beta – Free to download, this web-based service allows users to quickly and easily lock, locate and possibly get back a PC, laptop or Android device, along with the information on it in the event it is ever lost or stolen. Among the cool features included in this product is the so called “Sneak Peek,” which allows you to remotely activate the Web cam to see who has your smartphone or tablet.
• Norton Online Family for Android and iOS users – Now out of beta, this free mobile application allows Norton Online Family users to view their children’s online activities and manage each child’s “House Rules” from their iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or Android device.

The new Norton Tablet Security will be available at the MSRP of $39.99 for a one year service period. Norton Anti-Theft beta is now available as a free download for users in the United States from the Norton Beta Center. Norton Online Family for Android and iOS users is available as a free download for existing Norton Online Family users from both the Android Market and the App Store…
Norton Online Family (FREE) [iTunes link] [Android Market link]

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Motorola Droid 3 update adds GTalk video chat

Motorola Droid 3 users are set to receive a new update that adds GTalk video chat. The new Android build is 5.6.890.XT862 and is 57.6MB in size. In addition to the new video chatting capability, users can look forward to over 30 bug fixes and additional functionality.
Among the bug fixes, users can look forward to a display that no longer flickers, Airplane Mode that works properly when toggling rapidly, GPS updates which now install properly, as well as the device no longer overheating when using the camera or camcorder for extended periods. The Blur interface has also been tweaked and is said to be cleaner, and more stable.

New functionality brought in the update includes faster camera shutter speed and the addition of multi-shot capability, improvements to SWYPE, and improved audio quality.

The overall update is expected to take 20 to 45 minutes to download, while the installation process should take 5 -10 minutes. Users can manually check for the OTA update, otherwise they will find a notification pushed from the update server when it is available.

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