02
Aug
2012-08-02_02h32_31

[Editorial] The Ten Commandments Of Naming Phones And Tablets - Thou Shalt Not Epic 4G Touch

Posted by in Editorials

Manufacturers, you're awful at naming things. Sorry. It's true. In many cases, you've either muddied the brand of your flagship devices, or made it incredibly difficult for customers to know what they should be asking for when they walk into a store. This is probably not a good thing since you want customers to buy your stuff. More than that, though, you want them to love your stuff, so they'll buy more of it. Making it easier to say the name of the product will go a long way towards that goal.

Today, I'm going to help you with this problem.

01
Aug
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New Jelly Bean (JRO03H) Binaries Up For Nexus S/4G, Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi, And Verizon, GSM Galaxy Nexus

Posted by in Android OS, AT&T, Development, Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Nexus S 4G (Crespo4g), Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

In a post to Google's Android Building group today, Jean-Baptiste Queru once again acted as the bearer of good tidings for developers and tweakers everywhere, announcing that "a new set of proprietary binaries for Jelly Bean are available."

The new batch of binaries includes those of the Nexus S and Nexus S 4G (Crespo and Crespo4G respectively), the latter of which we just recently saw added into the AOSP fold.

The set also includes updates to the both the GSM Galaxy Nexus (maguro), and Verizon's Galaxy Nexus (toro, which itself is ever so close to full AOSP support).

Conspicuously absent from the party is Sprint's variant of the Galaxy Nexus, but there's no surprise there.

07
Jul
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[Update: It's Back] Deal Alert: Daily Steals Offering GSM Unlocked Galaxy SIII For Just $599.99

Posted by in Deals, Galaxy S III

Update 7/7/12: The deal is back, this time at Daily Steals Last Call.

With sales expected to tip over 10 million units next month, and release dates being pushed back (or split) because of "overwhelming demand," Samsung's Galaxy SIII may just be the most sought-after Android device to date. Those still looking to grab the unlocked GSM version of the device are in luck today – DailySteals.com is offering the device for $599.99, a significant discount over the phone's normal retail price.

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Just in case you've forgotten the specs that have had so many users drooling, here's a quick look:

  • 4.8" HD Super AMOLED display
  • Android 4.0.4 (with TouchWiz overlay)
  • 1GB RAM
  • MicroSD slot (for expandable memory up to 64GB)
  • 8MP rear camera and 1.9MP front shooter
  • 1.4GHz Quad-core processor
  • 2100mAh battery

If you've been waiting for a good deal on an unlocked SIII, we haven't seen a better discount yet.

13
Jun
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Apple Opted Not To Delay Samsung Galaxy S III Launch... So That The Case Goes To Trial Sooner

Posted by in Galaxy S III, News

According to the always sometimes occasionally reliable FOSS patents, Apple made a conscious decision to allow Samsung to launch the Galaxy S III on time... so that the case could go to trial sooner. Apple had the option of filing a temporary restraining order to potentially stop the shipment of the SGSIII, but doing so would've been a risk for a few reasons.

Because Apple and Samsung are still in litigation over the Galaxy Nexus, Apple could attempt to stop shipment of the GSIII using a temporary restraining order (TRO). In order for the TRO to be granted, Apple would have to prove that there aren't enough technical differences between the two phones; consequently, by their logic, the GSIII should be tied up as well.

10
Jun
galaxyS3_devicesSharing

[Weekend Poll] Which Would You Buy Today, The Samsung Galaxy S III or HTC One X?

Posted by in Galaxy S III, One X (Endeavor), One XL (Evita), Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Is A Carrier Move To Data-Only Service A Win Or Loss For Consumers?

Just a few weeks ago, we asked you what phone you would buy if you had to choose one today - the HTC One X, or the Samsung Galaxy S III. Surprisingly, people were pretty closely split, with the tally as of writing 56% SGSIII, 44% HOX. But that was in the sort of limbo-zone when we'd seen plenty of glowing reviews of the One X and the SGSIII had yet to be proven. Now, the field  is a little more empty, with international variants of the SGSIII out for a few weeks and a number of reviews having dropped.

06
Jun
galaxyS3_devicesSharing

Verizon Samsung Galaxy S III Now Officially Up For Pre-Order: 16GB For $200, 32GB For $250

Posted by in Galaxy S III, News, Verizon Wireless

Samsung's hotly-anticipated successor to the ultra-popular Galaxy series is coming to our shores, and as expected, preorders for the GSIII are now live on Verizon. For those needing a quick refresh of the specs:

  • 4.8" 720p SUMER AMOLED display
  • 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU
  • 2GB RAM (!)
  • 16/32GB storage + microSD Slot
  • Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
  • 8MP rear shooter, 1.9MP front
  • Gorilla Glass 2
  • 2100mAh battery
  • 4G (LTE)

2012-06-06_07h11_15

Samsung also includes a number of proprietary apps, the most anticipated of which is probably the Siri-esque S Voice app.

241201 241202 galaxyS3_devicesSharing

As shown in the picture above, Verizon is saying their SGSIIIs (both colors) are shipping no later than July 9.

20
May
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[Weekend Poll] Voice Control Apps: Future Or Fad?

Posted by in Applications, Galaxy S III, Polls

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Follow Up: Is Gaming On Android Lackluster?

Though voice control apps have been around for quite some time, it took Apple's release of Siri to bring the functionality to the mainstream. Now, competing manufacturers are trying to push out similar services. Samsung's first to the punch with a Vlingo-based "S Voice" service, though it remains to be seen how well it works. Google, too, is rumored to be working on improved Google Voice Actions, reportedly named Assistant.

Debates over the usefulness of voice control have cropped up around the Android Police offices before, with the team fairly split on the topic.

06
May
GalSIII

[Weekend Poll] Which Would You Choose, The HTC One X Or The Samsung Galaxy S III?

Posted by in Galaxy S III, HTC, One X (Endeavor), Polls, Samsung

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see Have You Switched Your Primary Cloud Storage Service To Google Drive?

The HTC One X landed in Europe in early April and was released today on AT&T, and as such, earned the distinction of first of the next-gen hardware. But being first isn't always the best - on Thursday, Samsung revealed their new flagship, the Galaxy S III. In European guise, both pack some pretty impressive specs, including a quad-core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, a large, 720p screen, high-quality cameras, and slim profiles. While there's no official word on what the SGSIII's US specs will be, it's likely it will lose two cores in favor of LTE, much like the One X.

22
Mar
sony-logo

Sony Announces Tablet P And Tablet S Ice Cream Sandwich Updates For The End Of April

Posted by in News, Tablet P, Tablet S

Good news for anyone who bought one of the recent Sony Android tablets - namely the Tablet P and Tablet S - the update to Android 4.0 should be coming your way next month. The update will not only bring all of the benefits that ICS has to offer, but also a feature that will allow Tablet users to access and watch programs they've recorded on their compatible Sony Blu-Ray recorder.

s23 sony-tab

Also included in the update is a new feature called Small Apps, which is quite similar to Samsung's Mini-Apps on its Galaxy Tab series. Included in the Small Apps micro-suite is a floating calculator, remote control, and a browser window that will run on top of other windows, offering a true multi-tasking experience.

20
Mar
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Sony Releases Open Source Archive For The Xperia S, Includes Handy Build Instructions

Posted by in Development, News, Sony, Xperia S (Nozomi)

Sony released the Xperia S open source archive today, providing all the tools necessary to build a kernel and start cooking up ROMs for the Xperia S from Sony's source code. In a post to Sony Mobile's developer blog today, the company also noted that the opening of the Xperia S archive marks the first time Sony has published source code for a product built around Qualcomm's Snapdragon S3.

XperiaS

The post goes on to advise that in order to flash the software, users will need to complete a few extra steps and run a special script (which is linked, along with a proprietary firmware file, in the original post).

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