7:35 PM
Simranpal SIngh
[via DroidLife]
Monday, October 31, 2011
Press Shot Labeled as Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Carrier Branding Nowhere to Be Found
[via DroidLife]
HTC ships 13.2 million devices in Q3, confirms two launches for November
Another day, another quarterly earnings report. Taiwanese smartphone specialist HTC is doing very well, with 13.2 million total device sales (not all Android, of course), $4.54 billion in total revenue, $625 million of which is profit. Riding the continuing surge in worldwide smartphone sales, HTC is up year-over-year in every major statistic, with shipped devices rising an impressive 93%.
The company also confirmed plans for two new product launches in November. One is expected to be the HTC Rezound, AKA the Vigor, probably coming in an announcement on November the 3rd. It’ll compete with the latest from Samsung and Motorola, with a 720p screen and Beats audio, and a Verizon (at least initially) launch. The second device is currently a mystery, though there’s no reason that it wouldn’t be announced at the same time.
Out of the three major Android manufacturers, HTC is performing the best all-round, with an impressive 13.76% profit margin over the last three months. Though the company isn’t anywhere near as big as Samsung (over 28 million devices shipped in the same period), it’s operating much more efficiently, and doesn’t have feature phone concerns to worry about. Motorola continues to operate at a loss as it prepares for a Google acquisition later this year.
Looking forward into Q4, HTC’s predictions are reserved. They expect roughly flat total revenue and shipment figures, though both of these would be about 30% higher than the relevant figures for last year.
[via SlashGear]
Buffer releases Android app, iPhone version will be next
We last covered Buffer, whose innovative service lets Twitter users schedule updates in pre-timed batches to ensure they never “flood” followers, when it announced that it had registered one million tweets ‘buffered’ and the team has since been busy developing its first mobile app.
The Android application, which is available to download for free, comes with all the usual features including tweet editing, scheduling and switching between multiple accounts. Additional on-app analytics allows users to see the number of clicks, retweets and reach for each tweet.
A dedicated iPhone solution will be next as The Buffer team revealed that next in the pipeline is an iOS app to give iPhone owners a customised experience of the service. For now they, like other mobile uses, can only use the service through its email-based mobile version.
Buffer is also “working away like mad on Buffer for Facebook”, a service that would, presumably, allow its Facebook users to schedule their updates in groups and at specific times as they can already do with Twitter.
Buffer has always admitted it plans to do more than just cover Twitter, having already added Google Reader we assume that it will explore potential connectivity with LinkedIn, Google+ and others sites in the future.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Is HP just making up excuses now to keep webOS in the dark?
HP’s gone a little bit up and down over the last few months. Actually, many would say that there has been a lot more downthan up, and I would tend to agree. I am a fan of any company out there that stands behind their products to the end, and shows that they are pushing ahead despite the hardships. I’ll support those companies along with them, even if I know there’s an obvious dead end ahead. It’s one of the reasons I bought a TouchPad in that crazy fire sale that was happening. Even when I was seeing HP’s dismissal of the hardware front, I was holding out hope for the software. And now that HP is supposed to make a decision on webOS itself, I find myself holding my breath here and there, waiting to hear something.
While we’ve been reporting that things could change for the worse for webOS as of late, it would seem that HP is set on keeping things the way they are. What that means is anyone’s guess at this point, at least deeper than face value. For the rest of the world, we see a mobile operating system that is literally in a state of limbo. We see that HP’s webOS is still there, still being talked about, and still wanted by plenty of people out there. But, we also see HP not really making a move on anything. We see HP literally balking at the idea that webOS is still around or could be left adrift. The truth is it seems to me that HP has no idea what to do and they are trying to bide as much time as they can before someone, anyone forces them to make one.
That has never been so clear to me until just recently, when webOS GPU VP Stephen DeWitt offered his two cents on the life of webOS. Of course, this is coming from an “insider,” so this isn’t entirely set in stone quite yet. But, we’ll take it for what it’s worth for now. And that’s why I’m thinking HP is seriously trying to just come up with any excuse they can to make sure that they keep webOS under their wing, in this constant state of flux and mystery. What I’m talking about is DeWitt mentioning that webOS is designed to work on Qualcomm chips, and that potential companies would “likely want webOS to work with other kinds of chipsets.”
Really? This just seems like we are trying too hard to make sure that no one else gets their hands on webOS. Yes, webOS is designed to work on Qualcomm chips, but last time I checked there were still manufacturers out there using Qualcomm chips in smartphones. So . . . That can’t honestly be a huge issue, right? I understand that those companies using Qualcomm chipsets in their phones might not want to get their hands on webOS, but at the same time, I would be shocked to hear that not one of those companies would like to use webOS. For a nominal licensing fee there’s obviously still money to be made from webOS – why not bank on that? And then, on the flip-side, why not get one of those hundreds of intelligent people out there who have been working on webOS since day one to get the mobile OS to work on something other than a Qualcomm chipset? That’s possible, right? If it isn’t then that’s a realistic dilemma that could really be holding things up. If it is possible, then let’s get this moving, shall we?
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that HP is making these kinds of moves, blaming these kinds of situations on the hold up because they can’t find anyone to license webOS in its current state. No, not because the likes of Samsung and HTC don’t want to manufacture phones with webOS, but because they don’t want to deal with HP. To me, that makes the most sense. Considering how “wishy-washy” HP seems to be with one of the most fan-crazed mobile operating systems out there, I wouldn’t want to work directly with them right now, either. Someone in HP’s upper management seriously just needs to make a decision on webOS, even if that means they officially declare webOS dead, or that they’ve passed the reigns over to someone else. Just make a decision. We’re all waiting to hear it, seriously.
But, if we’re left to deal with these ridiculous reasons, and continue to get stonewalled, then you’ll only have one choice, and it will be completely on you: kill it.
While we’ve been reporting that things could change for the worse for webOS as of late, it would seem that HP is set on keeping things the way they are. What that means is anyone’s guess at this point, at least deeper than face value. For the rest of the world, we see a mobile operating system that is literally in a state of limbo. We see that HP’s webOS is still there, still being talked about, and still wanted by plenty of people out there. But, we also see HP not really making a move on anything. We see HP literally balking at the idea that webOS is still around or could be left adrift. The truth is it seems to me that HP has no idea what to do and they are trying to bide as much time as they can before someone, anyone forces them to make one.
That has never been so clear to me until just recently, when webOS GPU VP Stephen DeWitt offered his two cents on the life of webOS. Of course, this is coming from an “insider,” so this isn’t entirely set in stone quite yet. But, we’ll take it for what it’s worth for now. And that’s why I’m thinking HP is seriously trying to just come up with any excuse they can to make sure that they keep webOS under their wing, in this constant state of flux and mystery. What I’m talking about is DeWitt mentioning that webOS is designed to work on Qualcomm chips, and that potential companies would “likely want webOS to work with other kinds of chipsets.”
Really? This just seems like we are trying too hard to make sure that no one else gets their hands on webOS. Yes, webOS is designed to work on Qualcomm chips, but last time I checked there were still manufacturers out there using Qualcomm chips in smartphones. So . . . That can’t honestly be a huge issue, right? I understand that those companies using Qualcomm chipsets in their phones might not want to get their hands on webOS, but at the same time, I would be shocked to hear that not one of those companies would like to use webOS. For a nominal licensing fee there’s obviously still money to be made from webOS – why not bank on that? And then, on the flip-side, why not get one of those hundreds of intelligent people out there who have been working on webOS since day one to get the mobile OS to work on something other than a Qualcomm chipset? That’s possible, right? If it isn’t then that’s a realistic dilemma that could really be holding things up. If it is possible, then let’s get this moving, shall we?
I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that HP is making these kinds of moves, blaming these kinds of situations on the hold up because they can’t find anyone to license webOS in its current state. No, not because the likes of Samsung and HTC don’t want to manufacture phones with webOS, but because they don’t want to deal with HP. To me, that makes the most sense. Considering how “wishy-washy” HP seems to be with one of the most fan-crazed mobile operating systems out there, I wouldn’t want to work directly with them right now, either. Someone in HP’s upper management seriously just needs to make a decision on webOS, even if that means they officially declare webOS dead, or that they’ve passed the reigns over to someone else. Just make a decision. We’re all waiting to hear it, seriously.
But, if we’re left to deal with these ridiculous reasons, and continue to get stonewalled, then you’ll only have one choice, and it will be completely on you: kill it.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sony Ericsson Announces Android 2.3.4 Rollout For All Countries – Adds Bonus Features
Back in September, Sony Ericsson announced that they would being rolling out the Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread update to their devices, unfortunately for us here in the states (and other parts of the world), it was only for Nordic countries. Thankfully, today, SE announced that the 2.3.4 update has begun rolling out for the rest of the world but with a few added changes. Highlights of the update include:
Sony Ericsson devices that can look forward to the update are just about their entire lineup and include the Xperia Arc, Play, Neo, Mini, Mini Pro, Pro, Ray, Active, Neo V, Arc S and the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. For a video walkthrough of the new features (you have to see “USB on the go”) check out the video below.
- Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
- Updated Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities.
- Xperia™ smartphones introducing world’s first 3D Sweep Panorama functionality powered by Sony.
- 16x video zoom
- The software upgrade will enable consumers to turn their Xperia™ smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock™ multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
- Gesture input - text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
- WiFi DLNA
- Screen capture - allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone.
Sony Ericsson (soon to be just “Sony”) has quickly proven to be one of the better Android OEM’s, offering continuous support in regards to updates and with their work in the developer community. Now all that’s left is for SE to deliver some shiny dual-core devices to the US and they’ll be golden.
Thanks, Vlad!
[Via SEBlog]
Apple's iTunes vs Microsoft Zune
Which is the best for syncing with a mobile device and for everyday use as a PC-based media player, Apple’s iTunes or Microsoft’s Zune? We investigate
Apple, largely thanks to the success of the iPod and iPhone, is presently enjoying something of a monopoly in the personal music player markets, be it on its iPod devices, iPhones or iPads. And because Apple likes to keep everything connected (or under its control) iTunes has become, for the vast majority of people, the standard PC media player.
And this isn’t all that surprising when you consider that Microsoft’s attempt at an iPod-liked device, known as the Zune player, absolutely bombed upon release. In fact, it wans't even released here in the UK. But one good thing to come out of the ill-fated Zune campaign was Microsoft’s Zune PC software, which is starting to look every bit the iTunes-killer Microsoft fanbois have been saying it was since day one.
Of course to use either you’ll need to first align yourself with either Microsoft or Apple – iPhones won’t work on Zune, for example, which isn’t even available on Macs, and Windows Phone 7 devices won’t work with iTunes. So this is really an article for anyone out there that’s looking to upgrade to a new phone, but can’t decide between going with Apple or Microsoft.
Looks
This aspect of the comparison is pretty subjective as it’s based on looks and has nothing to do with functionality. As we established earlier, everybody knows what Apple’s iTunes looks like. It’s simple, grey, easy-to-use and acts as a portal to Apple’s iTunes Store, where you can buy apps, films and music.
Unlike Apple’s products iTunes isn’t really about looks. It even feels a bit old-hat these days, if we’re honest, as very little about the way it looks has changed that much since the service first launched. It serves it’s purpose and is very straight forward to use, but we think Apple could do something with the UI to make it a bit more attractive.
Microsoft’s Zune, on the other hand, is all about looks with its gorgeous wallpapers and Metro UI. So much so, in fact, that if you hadn’t seen either pieces of software before and had to guess which one was Apple’s, you’d probably assume it was Zune.
Zune will also load up backgrounds of the artist that you’re listening to. So if you’ve got some Mastodon playing you’ll get a lovely collage of Mastodon album covers making up wallpaper. The tiles that make up the wallpaper spin around revealing different images and collections of pictures – it really is a pleasure to look at. Apple doesn’t have anything that compares to this in iTunes.Winner: Zune
Syncing
During that last month or so, we’ve tested quite a few Windows Phone 7 handsets. This is part of the reason why we’ve become so attached to Zune. It’s also the reason why Microsoft’s software and not iTunes is now the default music player on our PC at home, despite the fact that this scribbler is an iPhone 4S user.
Generally speaking we didn’t experience any issues whatsoever when syncing Zune with our Windows Phone 7 device. You simply connect it via a cable, or over Wi-Fi, and enable the syncing mode. Adding files manually is simple, too – just drag albums, songs or videos onto the phone symbol in the bottom left corner.
One big draw of Zune is that it automatically adds songs to itself once you’ve downloaded them. Apple’s iTunes won’t do this by itself – you’ll have to manually add them or set up a folder. We found this slightly annoying when switching back from Zune to iTunes. Zune also automatically imports your entire iTunes library across as well. Again, iTunes won’t do this by itself. You, once again, have to step in.
Both Zune and iTunes are evenly matched in the syncing stakes. Both support Wi-Fi syncing, for instance, and generally perform above average when updating your device with music, video and media.
Having said that, neither product’s Wi-Fi syncing options are particularly impressive. After trying and failing on numerous occasions with both products we opted back to using a cable – it’s faster and more secure.
One aspect where Microsoft kicks Apple’s ass though is the ease with which Zune updates the software on your Windows Phone handset. We can’t remember one instance where an iOS update has installed on the first go, there’s always at least one failure – always. This could be an issue with the number of people trying to download an update at any one time, but Apple should have rectified this issue by now.
But this isn’t the case with Zune. Both of Microsoft’s recent Windows Phone updates (NoDo and Mango) updated with ease. There were no restarts or no error messages. It was just a case of plugging in the handset and watching it go. Simple.
Of course this difference could be caused by the sheer amount of people accessing Apple’s servers once an update is made available – there is a lot more iPhone users out there after all. But this still doesn’t detract from the general experience: Zune seems better equipped to process and implement software onto handsets.
Winner: Zune
Getting album art work
If you’re anything like us, you hate having black squares where album artwork should be. In both iTunes and Zune this issue too much of a problem, as you can search and download the artwork for specific albums as and when you need it.
But say you’ve got some music that isn’t from Apple’s iTunes store or Microsoft’s Zune Market? It could be your ripped CDs or, god forbid, illegally downloaded – what then?
Well, you can drag and drop artwork from Google into iTunes and that will then become the default artwork for a band, which is always good for obscure artists. However, we’ve noticed some issues with this function in iTunes 10.5. In some instances we just can’t add artwork and this means lots of blank squares in our iPhone’s music application.
In Zune you just right-click and select search for Artist Artwork. That’s it. No Google searches, no magic and, most importantly, there’s no Zune registration required, a simple Hotmail/Live account will suffice. To date Zune has found every piece of album artwork we’ve asked it to – even really tricky ones like Rwake and Wolves in the Throne Room.
Winner: Zune
Buying music
iTunes is the default place to by music for practically every human being in the western world. It’s simple to use, well stocked and, generally speaking, priced accordingly. You can get video, music, books films and applications from inside iTunes. And if you have an iPhone/iPad/iPod, it’s the only way you can get content to and from a device (granted there’s other methods, but these are more of a pain than a solution).
Microsoft is similar to Apple in that to get content from your PC to your Windows Phone device you’ll need to use Zune. But the similarities end here, you see Microsoft lets you buy music via its Zune store but it’s taken a more Spotify-like approach to music consumption, which some users tend to prefer.
Here is what a $14.99 a month Zune Pass gets you, according to Microsoft:
A Zune Music Pass lets you stream and download as many songs as you like from Zune Marketplace and listen to them for as long as your subscription is active. You can get a 1-month Zune Music Pass or save money and get 12 months for the price of 10 by choosing an annual pass.
With an active Zune Music Pass, you can:
Play songs an unlimited number of times.
Download an unlimited number of songs to your computer, and sync them an unlimited number of times to your Windows Phone.
Stream music from Zune Marketplace, from your Xbox 360 using Zune on Xbox LIVE, and from Zune.net. You can also use Smart DJ to listen to spontaneous playlists.
At last count, Microsoft had about 17,000,000 tracks on Zune. That’s a lot of music. The only issue we have with Zune is that it’s reliant on the cloud. For instance, if you wanted to listen to music on the move you’d have to stream it to your device, which requires mobile data – and that costs money.
Zune would be an ideal solution in a world that had coast-to-coast 4G-connectivity and unlimited data plans. Unfortunately neither of these things exist in the UK, so for this reason we have to go with Apple on this one, despite the obvious benefits of Microsoft’s solution.
Winner: Apple
Compatibility
As you'd expect, Zune is compatible with Windows, and only Windows. If you have a Mac, you're left out, unless you opt to download Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac, which will only sync files, rather than allow you to access your full music collection.
But if you’ve got a Windows PC, you have slightly more options, because iTunes works on PCs and Mac.
We use iTunes to sync our iPhone, for instance, but Zune as our PC media player – that way you get the best of both worlds.
Winner: iTunes
Final thoughts
It’s a pretty clean-cut victory for Zune in this instance. It looks better, performs better and is simpler to use and packs in lots more usual features, such as better syncing. Having said that, to make use of either you will need the appropriate hardware (either an iPhone or a Windows Phone).
In the grand scheme of things neither product is perfect, though. Both have their positives and negatives, but to get a real feel for the main differences (namely the quality of the user experience) we’d recommend using Zune if you haven’t already – it’s streets ahead of iTunes in this respect.
Both, however, suffer greatly on account of just how locked down they are – this is especially evident with Zune, which isn’t even available on Mac.
We’d love to see an OS X version of Zune and Zune support iPhone syncing, it’d be great for consumers – it’d give them a choice. But it won’t happen, so get used to one of the other (or in some instances both) depending on what type of hardware set-up you use.
GameStop begins selling Android tablets with free games
Say what you will about GameStop, as many have and will, but you can accuse them of being anything less than shrewd business. To that end they’re expanding their mostly console and portable video game stock to include Android tablets from Samsung, Asus and Acer, starting in a few select stores today. The tablets will be pre-loaded with seven free games including Dead Space and Madden NFL 2012.
The first tablets on sale are the Acer Iconia Tab 100, Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. The tablets won’t cost any less than they do at other retail locations, and if GameStop’s regular pricing structure is anything to go on, they’ll probably be more expensive than at least a few. But gamers hungry for a new mobile experience can practice the time-honored tradition of trading in old consoles and game discs for store credit, which can be used to purchase a new Android tablet. GameStop has already expanded its trade-in and used programs to cover general gadgets like the iPhone and iPod, and presumably, you’ll soon be able to trade in your Samsung Galaxy Tab or Acer Transformer as well. GameStop may integrate these tablets with its mobile streaming service Spawn Labs at some point in the future.
This may seem like an odd move for a company so well-established in the lucrative game console retail space, but if you take a look at some of the games coming out for Android lately, it makes a lot of sense. Check out the graphics in Shadowgun or Modern Combat 3, and you’ll see almost the rival of any Xbox or PlayStation 2 game. Who knows what can be done with upcoming hardware like the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 found in the Transformer Prime, and with HDMI output already on many Android devices and native controller support coming with Ice Cream Sandwich, Android tablets are beginning to look a lot like gaming hardware, to say nothing of specialized smartphones like the XPERIA Play.
With downloaded games making up a bigger and bigger chunk of the digital market, GameStop finds itself in the same position that bookstores were five or six years ago. They can continue to make most of their profits off of software which will soon be available at the click of a mouse, or they can diversify and begin delivering the one thing that can’t be replicated with a broadband connection: hands-on, instant hardware gratification. It could be the difference between GameStop being the next Barnes & Noble (appropriately, since they used to be owned by them)… or Borders.
[via SlashGear]
HTC Releases Thunderbolt Gingerbread kernel source code
Well folks, time to let the good times roll and the custom ROMs flow. HTC has recently released the full kernel source code for the HTC Thunderbolt, although this isn’t for Froyo, no, this is for the recently released Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Now all of the hackers and tinkerers that make our custom ROM’s can get to work on the Gingerbread aspects of things. Good news for Thunderbolt users indeed.
Shown in the image below the source has finally been released and is available for download, coming in at just 89MB it shouldn’t take too long and we can expect developers are already knee deep in code. While this isn’t a big deal for the average consumer, all the users that make custom ROM’s or overclocking kernels and all those other things we love to mess with on Android, the source code is a big part of that. HTC hasn’t been the fastest to release in the recent past but we are glad to see this Gingerbread build arrive so quickly after the OTA (although the OTA did take forever.)
Give all those developers and ROM makers a few days to sift through the kernel source code and I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of good things come out of XDA and RootzWiki soon be ready for some flashing.
HTCdev files
HTC EVO 3D dressed in Purple available from Amazon for just $50
I’m sure many of you loyal WiMAX supporters were jealous when you saw Verizon get the Plum colored HTC Rhyme, and immediately you wanted one for yourself just with a more powerful smartphone. Usually I wouldn’t post just because a new color is available but common, purple (plum) is just the best color on a smartphone I think I’ve ever seen. That and Amazon has the awesome dual-core EVO 3D for just $50 in the new beautiful color.
Best Buy had a short exclusive on the Plum EVO 3D and RadioShack offers it in white. Now Amazon can also partake in the fun while beating everyone else with their price. You can get the EVO 3D for $50 dollars with a new 2-year contract or for those will a full upgrade option, otherwise the price wont be so cheap.
What that means is you’ll get the same 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and that 4.3″ qHD display and dual 5 megapixel cameras for all the 3D video your heart desires. Only now you can rock the EVO in style with a touch of purple, or plum. You can get it right now from Amazon Wireless by clicking here. Is Plum a color you’d consider in your next smartphone? Maybe for the ladies but what about you gentlemen?
Best Buy had a short exclusive on the Plum EVO 3D and RadioShack offers it in white. Now Amazon can also partake in the fun while beating everyone else with their price. You can get the EVO 3D for $50 dollars with a new 2-year contract or for those will a full upgrade option, otherwise the price wont be so cheap.
What that means is you’ll get the same 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and that 4.3″ qHD display and dual 5 megapixel cameras for all the 3D video your heart desires. Only now you can rock the EVO in style with a touch of purple, or plum. You can get it right now from Amazon Wireless by clicking here. Is Plum a color you’d consider in your next smartphone? Maybe for the ladies but what about you gentlemen?
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