Abhiroop Basu - 11/19 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Abhiroop Basu is an opinionated tech and digital media blogger. As a doe-eyed twenty-something he started his first blog TechComet to comment on anything tech-related that caught his omniscient eye. Since then he has blogged for Android Police, Make Tech Easier, and This Green Machine. In the real world, Abhiroop Basu is a resident of Singapore and the Editor of The Digit, a subsidiary of The Potato Productions Group.

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Jul

Apple Started It - Unsealed Ruling Indicates That Apple Infringed HTC’s Intellectual Property

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in HTC, News

Developments in the Apple v HTC patent war are coming in fast and it looks like things are heating up.

In a preliminary ruling (discussed further in our earlier article) the US International Trade Commission (ITC) found HTC liable for infringing Apple’s patents. Google’s executive chairman then hit back with his view on Apple’s strategy of litigating its competition into oblivion.

But, now Bloomberg is reporting that an unsealed (not made public) ruling dating back to July 1 may have turned the tide in favour of HTC. According to the earlier ITC ruling Apple’s Mac OS X is utilising technology that infringes two GPU patents owned by S3 Graphics.

Jul

Samsung Announces 5 Million Galaxy S II's Sold Globally - Earlier Reports Of Over 6 Million Sales May Have Been Premature

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Galaxy S II, News

Samsung is reporting that 5 million Galaxy S II handsets have been sold globally, only 85 days after its initial launch and 40 days faster than its predecessor, the Galaxy S. This contradicts what we heard late last week, when Digital Versus reported that apparently 6 million units had been sold in "less than three weeks", however, this recent announcement from Samsung suggests that those figures may have been exaggerated.

Samsung's flagship Android smartphone has already acquired over 56% of the mobile market in Korea and has also topped the market share of 10 European countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Jul

WiMAX Version Of Samsung Galaxy S II Approved By The FCC

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Galaxy S II, News

We normally tend not to report FCC filings and approvals, but this was just too juicy to pass up. Our friends at Wireless Goodness are reporting that the FCC have approved a phone called the SPH-D710 submitted by Samsung.

The CDMA/EvDO and WiMAX version of the device obtained FCC approval indicating that it is headed for Sprint. Furthermore, the camera and speaker placement in the FCC filing document mirrors the placement of the same in the images of the Sprint branded Galaxy S2 leaked by This is my next earlier this month.

Just yesterday we reported that BGR managed to get their hands on images of what looked to be AT&T's variant of the Galaxy S2 featuring a QWERTY keyboard.

Jul

Sprint's End-Of-Life Listings Leaked - Say Goodbye to the HTC EVO 4G And Samsung Epic 4G

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in News, Sprint

Enthusiast blog SprintFeed has uncovered a screenshot of Sprint's end-of-life (EOL) listings which indicates the handsets that Sprint will cease ordering in the coming weeks and months to free up space for its newer catalogue of devices.

The Android devices that will be getting the axe in July include the Motorola i1, followed by the white HTC EVO 4G in September, and the Samsung Transform, black HTC EVO 4G, and Samsung Epic 4G in October.

According to SprintFeed if your insured handset is damaged and Sprint is out of stock, you will be provided with a "comparable" replacement. In some cases this can actually be an upgrade!

Jul

Early Press Shots of Upcoming HTC Puccini Leaked

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in HTC, News, Puccini

Following our report in May of the upcoming HTC tablet named after the celebrated Italian composer Puccini, BGR has gotten its hands on some exclusive images of the device itself.

The first of the two high-res press shots grabbed by BGR features the front of the 10" tablet in what appears to be a bespoke case with a stylus and holder. The second image shows off the rear of the tablet which appears to be sporting an 8 MP camera, dual-LED flash, and stereo speakers and a mic.

Interestingly, the first image also suggests that the $80 Magic Pen will be compatible with the Puccini.

Jul

Schmidt To Apple: Stop Litigating And Start Innovating

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Android OS, HTC, News

In a recent patent suit between HTC and Apple, the US International Trade Commission found the Taiwanese manufacturer liable on two counts of patent infringement in its Android-based devices (see our earlier post for a detailed analysis of the case and its effects).

Although this suit only involves Apple and HTC, its legal ramifications could affect Android as a whole - since the alleged infringements are core parts of the Android OS developed by Google.

Giving his views at Google's Mobile Revolution conference in Tokyo, Google's mouthpiece and executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has hit back with a stinging criticism of Apple's lawsuits.

Jul

Wikitude Drive US Is A Slick Looking Augmented Reality Navigation System That Rivals Google Maps, Retails For €9.99 ($14)

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Applications, News

It is difficult to look twice at a navigation app when Google Maps and Navigation comes pre-installed on every Android device. Indeed it is even more difficult to pay for an alternative navigation app unless it offers a compelling feature. However, it appears that Wikitude (known for its popular Augmented Reality Browser) has hit upon a novel and useful feature that may just tempt users in the United States to cough up for a paid navigation app.

Wikitude Drive is the world's first mobile augmented reality navigation system which uses your device's camera to show you the road as you drive through it.

Jul

Sprint To Launch HTC Kingdom As HTC Hero 4G?

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in HTC, News, Sprint

Unconfirmed rumours obtained from Pocketnow and a DLNA certificate for the device indicate that the upcoming HTC Kingdom is likely to be sold by Sprint as the HTC Hero 4G. Apparently, there are also indications of the device appearing in the EXIF data on photo-sharing sites.

We came across the HTC Kingdom in early May when a ROM of the device was leaked by the Chinese blog 911sniper. At the time not much was known about the device save for its qHD (540x960px) screen. Later Pocketnow released some updated specs indicating that the HTC Kingdom had a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM7630 processor, 768MB RAM, a 5MP camera with 720p video recording, and the device would launch with Android 2.3.3.

Jul

Exent's GameTanium Mobile Is The First Android Gaming Subscription Service

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Carriers, Games, News

Since I upgraded my antiquated HTC Magic to the shiny (and slim) Samsung Galaxy S2 I have spent most of my time downloading new games, a significant fraction of which are the so-called "casual games". These games usually cost between $0.99 and $2.99 and are of the Farm Frenzy, Angry Birds and Plants vs. Zombies variety. I tend to download a few, play them non-stop for about a week and then let them languish inside an aptly named "Old Games" folder. If you are like me, then have a look at the newly launched all-you-can-eat mobile gaming subscription service GameTanium Mobile from Exent.

Jun

T-Mobile Formally Announces Budget Android Phones: Samsung Exhibit 4G For $79.99 and Samsung Gravity SMART For $69.99

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Exhibit 4G, News, Samsung, T-Mobile

As promised, T-Mobile has just announced its newest Android handsets: the Samsung Exhibit 4G and the Samsung Gravity SMART.

The two new Samsung devices will bolster T-Mobile's Android coffers by providing an affordable option for penny-pinching smartphone lovers.

The Samsung Exhibit 4G is the higher-end of the two devices, running Android 2.3 and featuring a speedy 1GHz processor, a 3 MP rear camera with flash and a camcorder, as well as a front-facing camera with video chat pre-installed and, of course, HSPA+ ("4G") connectivity. The device will also come preloaded with a bunch of games, including Bejeweled 2, Scrabble, and Doodle Jump.