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Developments in the Apple v HTC patent war are coming in fast and it looks like things are heating up.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
As promised, T-Mobile has just announced its newest Android handsets: the Samsung Exhibit 4G and the Samsung Gravity SMART.
A few months ago we reviewed an interesting app called Texty. This app connects an Android phone to a computer through Chrome, and allows the user to send text messages straight from said browser. This is useful when you are working on your computer and you do not wish to move your hands away from your comfortable ergonomic keyboard and start pecking away at a small 3-4" screen. CrossTxT performs a similar function, but in my opinion, is far superior to Texty.
Verizon released a press-release today (see below) confirming the availability of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. The device is set to hit VZW shelves on May 26th for $199 with a two-year agreement, but customers can pre-order the device online beginning May 19th. Voice plans start at $39.99 a month and the compulsory unlimited data plan is $29.99.
The HTC Dream, launched in 2008 by a then little-known Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, took the world by storm as the first "Google-phone".
A lot of interesting products and services have been demoed at Google I/O 2011, including a number of interesting features for Ice Cream Sandwich, Android's forthcoming iteration. One of the less flashier features demoed is the 0-click peer-to-peer NFC sharing. This allows compatible Android devices to share content (contacts, links, YouTube videos) between the devices by simply placing them in close proximity to each other. No app needs to be run and no buttons need to be clicked - hence the "0-click" moniker.
T-Mobile has seen better days. First, it looks as though T-Mobile will be acquired soon by AT&T and to pour salt in their wounds apparently the subscriber results for Q1 2011 have been atrocious. However, T-Mobile is still doing all it can to win back its customers by revamping its prepaid plans to allow for unlimited data, launching cutting edge handsets, and now allowing unlimited calling over wireless networks.
I remember when the first Guitar Hero launched for the PS2 in early 2006, it was a ground-breaking concept. Since then, there have been far too many iterations of the game on virtually every device and platform conceivable. And now you can get your own personal copy of the latest Guitar Hero (Warriors of Rock) in the palm of your hand for the low price of $2.99 from the Amazon Appstore. The game costs $7.99 in the Amazon Market.
Viber is a popular VoIP calling app for iPhones that is poised to launch for the Android Market in the next few days. Today, it started offering invites to users to test out its Android offerings. I signed up and was thoroughly impressed with it despite the app still being in beta.
The HTC-made T-Mobile myTouch 4G was originally priced at $149.99 for new users signing up for a contract and $450 off-contract. Then in early November 2010, the price dropped to $79.99. Today until 5/5/11 (i.e. tomorrow), the mid-range Android device is completely free on T-Mobile with a 2-year contract after a $250 "instant discount" and $199.99 "web-only discount".
Fragmentation has been one of the biggest criticisms of the Android platform. Essentially, Google allows anybody to take the Android code and tweak it suit their own needs. This is how manufacturers like Motorola, HTC, and Samsung are able to create custom layers (MotoBlur, Sense UI, and TouchWiz, respectively) over the vanilla Android interface and how some carriers load up new phones with crapware. Although this is a price to pay for openness and customizability, a recent study indicates that 86% of developers are unhappy with the state of Android fragmentation (24% of them describing it as a "huge problem").