Samsung 11.6-inch tablet with insane 2560 x 1600 resolution rumored for February

Samsung’s flagship tablet the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a fine tablet. In fact, until the Transformer Prime came along, I would have argued it was the best out there, yes, even beat that other one. But the hardware is getting a little long in the tooth, and lots of Android users are wonder what Sammy’s got up its sleeve for the next generation. According to BGR, it’s a new tablet with Samsung’s own Exynos SOC architecture and an incredibly dense screen.

The anonymous source claims that the 11.6-inch screen will have a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. That’s a format most commonly associated with 30-inch computer monitors, and it’s considerably higher than even the best high-definition TVs. If the rumors are true, it’ll have a pixel density of 260, much, much higher than any comparable device on the market. The source claims that even though the screen is bigger, the tablet itself is about the same size, with a smaller bezel making up the difference.
And the screen isn’t the only thing eye-popping. A claimed Exynos dual-core processor will run at 2 Ghz, making it competitive with the latest quad-core attempts from ARM and derivatives. Android Beam is on board, so we assume that means Ice Cream Sandwich at launch, and a wireless media dock will make it a movie powerhouse.
Specs are often inflated early in a release cycle, so to put it bluntly, don’t get your hopes up. But with quad-core, 1920 x 1200 devices rumored from Lenovo and Acer, and Asus already making waves with the Transformer Prime, Samsung needed something to stay on top of the Android tablet game. This device, if it is indeed real, would do nicely.

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International users can get in on Google’s new Currents app with leaked APK

We’re just now starting to get a peek into Google’s new Flipboard-style news service, Currents, but unfortunately non-United States users can’t download the app from the Android Market. Luckily, they don’t have to: a kindly XDA-Developers member has posted a leaked version of the international app. It looks like just about anyone outside of the fifty states can get in on the action, so head on over there to give it a try.

In case you haven’t already, check out our initial impressions of Currents, with a hands-on video. It’s basically a new style of aggregation engine that adds support for paid sites, though all the content that’s already in Currents is free. That means that international newshounds should be to access everything at the moment. The app plays out like a grown-up version of the Android Genie widget, which is almost certainly already installed on your smartphone under “News & Weather.”
The magazine-style layout is exciting, and while it doesn’t display as much raw information as something like Pulse, it does it in a very organized, readable way. Will Currents remain as an essential Google service, or fall by the wayside like so many others? (I’m looking at you, Google Listen.) Only time will tell, but it’s sure got a promising start.
[via SlashGear]

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Motorola DROID Bionic bugfix update coming soon

I have some great news for all of the DROID Bionic owners around these parts. Remember that huge list of bugs that Verizon acknowledged and said they’d be fixing in a future update? Well it’s finally ready and should be rolling out extremely soon. We recently heard it would be released before the end of the year, and it looks like Verizon will hold true to their word because they’ve just informed us that it’s ready and will be rolling out soon.

The image above is the update documents provided directly from Verizon Wireless Support and the full version will be posted below so you can read all the new features in the update. The last we’ve heard of this update was when Motorola started asking for beta testers almost a month ago. Everything went ok because the update is slated to start any day now.
The list is huge so I wont go over everything and instead mention a few of the big ones:
– faster autofocus and general camera improvements
– fixed reliability and power cycle issues
– improved 3G/4G connectivity and switching
– fixed data lockup issues
– increased hotspot limit to 8 devices
– more
Those are just a few of the biggest issues that most will be happy to see. I for one know the camera is quite dreadful and users should be extremely happy to see an update on that front. The list of improvements and fixes is quite extensive and the update is being listed at around 54MB in size — so it’s fair to say they have a lot of fixes coming so get excited Bionic users. Usually when these official documents land on Verizon the update is pushed within a few days but could take up to 2 weeks. I’d be hitting that check for updates button starting tomorrow night if I had a Bionic.
Bionic Update Details

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Barnes & Noble “Birds & Noble” Angry Birds scavenger hunt December 11th

Today Barnes & Noble has announced they will be celebrating Angry Birds second birthday coming this December. To celebrate the second anniversary of the hugely popular game they’ll be hosting a “Birds & Noble” scavenger hunt in stores nationwide on December 11th starting at 11 AM. Stores will be loaded with golden eggs, hidden Mighty Eagle tokens and more.

If you’re lucky you might even find an Angry Birds T-Shirt of a free NOOK Tablet. They also have some tasty Angry Birds cookies on sale (pictured below) but they are going fast so you better hurry. Rovio has chosen Barnes & Noble as one of their US partners and this celebration should be a huge and fun event for fans of all ages. The scavenger hunt isn’t the only activities either. They’ll also have coloring contests, design your own Angry Birds characters, parades and more depending on location.
We are also hearing that Angry Birds cookies wont be the only apparel available in stores and that B&N will also have calenders, coffee mugs and cups, posters and all sorts of goodies fans can pickup and show their love for the Angry Birds. All the games will be available in stores as well as plenty of the brand new and exciting Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet.
Who’s ready for some bird hunting? Get ready and head down to Barnes & Noble come December 11th for all the fun.

Related articles

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• Kobo to develop Metro-style apps for Windows (tech-gadget.co.in)

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Beautiful Widgets passes 1 million paid downloads, celebrates with Google

Hopefully everyone is well aware of Google’s latest news that the Android Market has surpassed 10 billion downloads. Today LevelUp Studios is celebrating something similar as the first paid app to pass 1 million downloads from the Android Market. I know things like Angry Birds comes to mind but it didn’t launch originally on the Android Market and most of its downloads were on GetJar. The extremely popular weather and clock widget Beautiful Widgets is the first to 1 million downloads on Android and gets to claim the crown.

Now since Google is celebrating their 10 billionth download they’ve been kind enough to offer 10 apps for the next 10 days — at just $0.10 cents. We’ve been following the news and yesterday Beautiful Widgets was one of the lucky few on the list. Running just 10 cents for 24 hours yesterday Beautiful Widgets saw a huge surge in downloads and thanks to their participation, and Google’s sale they’ve boosted above the 1 million mark. Congrats guys!

The info-graphic above will give you some additional details on their achievements. 1 million downloads, over 100 updates, thousands of skins that get downloaded daily Beautiful Widgets is by far the biggest and best when it comes to Android apps. We’ve been fans for a long time here at AC and have covered them more then a few times. Here’s a quick hands-on with BW back when tablet support was added. Hopefully yesterday you were lucky enough to get in while the amazing application was only $0.10 cents but if not you should definitely get it today because it’s worth the small price. If you haven’t gave it a try yet we highly suggest you do so soon.
Beautiful Widgets Market Link
[via LevelUp Studio]

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Macro camera for any smartphone with the Macro Lens Band

The thought of additional lenses or Macro attachments for smartphones has always been a neat idea. I’ve seen plenty in the past but they were large and inconvenient an required assembly before use. To make things extremely quick and simple thanks to Photojojo we present you with the Macro Cell Lens Band. Essentially a macro lens on a durable rubber band that will fit on any smartphone.

Their motto is: “Shockingly detailed phone shots at the snap of a band!” and that is exactly what we have here. Shown in the photo above you simply toss on and snap the band in place and you’re ready to rock. As long as you don’t need the top 20% of your display of course. Now you can snap away and get as many close up shots as possible thanks to Photojojo.
Most of the image samples were using an iPhone so I couldn’t bring myself to post them front and center although for a better idea of the product I have added a few photos to the gallery below. This neat and ingenious novelty item can be yours for just $15.00 and would make a great stocking stuffer for the photographer in your life. There isn’t much to say about this awesome product other than it comes on a credit card sized holder that fits safely in your wallet or purse. Head over to Photojojo and get your own today.
[via SlashGear]

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Twitter for Android Gets Design Overhaul to Bring User Interface and Experience Closer to Desktop

Twitter for Android has gotten yet another update. This one’s another overhaul in both design and functionality. Four tabs bring all that Twitter has to offer – Home, Connect, Discover and Me. Home is just your streaming timeline of incoming tweets.

Connect is where you can find not only your mentions, but notifications about new followers, retweets and direct messages. Discover is where you find the ever-so-popular trending topics, the search function and a place to get suggestions for new accounts to follow.
Finally, the Me tab is pretty much your profile. Update your photo, your information, see who you’re following and who’s following you, manage lists, privacy and more are all possible under this tab.
It really simplifies the mobile experience and it’s about as aesthetically pleasing as the Twitter application has ever been. You can find the update in the Android market (the web Market is not showing the update yet but it’s there).

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Google+ photo tagging now features automatic facial recognition

Google’s social network site just keeps getting better and better these days. Now I know when you read automatic facial recognition you feel like John Connor from Terminator might hunt you down and recognize your face but this new system is completely opt-in. This feature is being called “Find My Face” and will make photo tagging even easier in Google+ land.

What we essentially have is a semi automatic system that Google has in place similar to how Facebook does it these days and when you add photos the facial recognition software will find matches to a face you’ve already tagged, and give you an easy drop down to make things simple. There is one huge difference with this vs Facebook and that is Google has this disabled and you can opt-in, while Facebook does this on its own without asking.
Next time a friend uploads your picture the Find My Face will make it simple for him to tag you — if you have opted-in of course. Being disabled at the start many users probably wont be using this feature but it has launched today and will be prompting users to opt-in so we should be seeing this more and more over the coming weeks. If you’d like to get all set up you can opt-in on the settings page located here.
Between this and upcoming features in Android 4.0 ICS like facial recognition to unlock the screen it seems Google is keen on making this type of technology a part of our daily lives. We’ve seen news of various facial recognition software before and most of it gets pushed behind for privacy reasons but with this being totally opt-in users shouldn’t have much concern.
Head down to Google+ and give it a try and while you are there don’t forget to Circle +GoAndroid.
[via SlashGear]

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Sony’s Xperia Play has more than 200 optimized games

When Sony Ericsson launched the Xperia Play last year, one of the primary concerns was a dearth of games to take advantage of its PlayStation-style slide-out gamepad. Those concerns appear to have been unfounded: AndroidGuys reports that the company confirmed the availability of more than 200 Xperia Play-optimized Android games. That doesn’t hold a candle to the wide array of games availabe on the Android Market, or for that matter, any major gaming console you’d care to mention, but it’s an impressive feat none the less.

Most of these games are stand-alone, high profile titles from the likes of EA and Gameloft, but there’s a pretty good selection of more indie-style games to choose from as well. The Android version of OCD enabler Minecraft premiered on the device, and months before a standard Android Market release. If you’re rocking the Play, try searching for “Xperia Play optimized” in the Market to get a good look at what’s available.
Sony has promised an Ice Cream Sandwich update for the Xperia Play, and all current Xperia phones, sometime in 2012. That’s a good thing, since we haven’t seen hide nor hair of an updated model, and with quad-core processors becoming the new standard for high performance, one would not go amiss. If you happen to have an Xperia Play and an Android tablet, be sure to try the latest version of Droid Note – it’s a great, geeky way to get that console experience on a bigger screen.

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