Motorola: About 40% of Canadian company decision makers considering Android smartphones for business use

Android is becoming popular, Gartner Research estimated their total market share in Q2 2011 hit 43.4%. In Canada, the only stat that we have is from a March 2011 comScore report that found users who adopted Google’s Android OS as their primary smartphone was 12.2%.

Today, Motorola Canada has come out with a stats that shows continued Android adoption. In a press release, heavily promoting the business features of the ATRIX 4G, they stated that “According to third party research commissioned by Motorola Mobility, close to 40 per cent of Canadian company decision makers across all company sizes are considering Android smartphones for business use.”
There was no background on how many decision makers were contacted, where or when the research was conducted. We’ve reached out to Motorola for a bit more insight into what made up the 40%, simply because that’s huge number. I guess “considering” is the key word there, and not transitioned. The comScore report showed Canadians use BlackBerry devices the most, an incredible 42% of smartphone subscribers.

                                                                                                                                        Source: CNW

Google releasing update to fix Nexus S search bug this week

In May we reported on a virulent bug that was affecting many users of the Canadian Nexus S. This software bug resulted in the Search button to constantly “activate”, rendering the phone unusable until restarted. At the time Google claimed they acknowledged the issue and were looking into releasing an over-the-air fix as soon as possible.

Well, here we are at the end of August and a today Google software engineer claims a fix has been rendered and will be delivered in an update later in the week. While this will certainly bring a sigh of relief to many an encumbered Nexus S owner, the fact that it is coming almost four months after being diagnosed, and nearly nine months since the phone’s release, will be little consolation.
We will update the post when the update is released, but Nexus S owners, are you excited for the fix, or have you found other ways around it?
Source: Google

SaskTel releases the Samsung Galaxy Gio

If the Samsung Galaxy SII on SaskTel is not for you, perhaps the scaled down Samsung Galaxy Gio is then. This is not as powerful as the GSII, but the price reflects it. The Gio runs Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread, 800 Mhz processor, a 3.2-inch touchscreen (480 x 320 resolution),3 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot… this can be yours for $249.99 outright and slides to $29.99 on a 3-year.

                                                                                                                                 Source: SaskTel

Mobilicity CEO: “Bold 9900 is coming soon, weeks not months”

WIND, Videotron and Mobilicity have been so incredibly silent over the past few weeks regarding the new BlackBerry devices. They are all waiting for T-Mobile, then we’ll most likely have a better indication of pricing and official dates. There was a hint that Mobilicity would be getting the Bold 9900, their CEO, Dave Dobbin, recently used this device during their cross-Canada “We’ll Prove It To You Tour”. Now on Twitter, Dobbin confirmed that the 9900 will be added to their lineup: “Bold 9900 is coming soon, weeks not months.”

Source: Twitter

iPhone 5 display will be less than 4-inches, report says

The rumours over last number of months revolving around the screen size of the next-generation iPhone 4S/5 are supposed to be bigger and be “edge-to–edge”. Some believe that we’ll see a 4-inch display, but overseas reports by DigiTimes today says their “sources from upstream panel suppliers have recently revealed that the iPhone 5′s panel size will still be less than 4-inch”. The report continues to state that the iPhone 5 screen size will be between 3.5-inches and 3.7-inches, but no word on what the resolution will be. It was also noted that this screen size will “allow the bezel of the panel to become thinner and make the screen look larger”. In addition, instead of the glass backing, Apple is apparently going with a metal backing.

Source: DigiTimes

Samsung Announces Bada 2.0-Powered Wave 3, M and Y Phones

Samsung's own Bada operating system, in its latest version 2 iteration, brings multi-tasking, WiFi Direct, voice recognition, NFC and many other goodies. It now powers three of the manufacturer's latest phones as Samsung announces the Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y.

The Samsung Wave 3 sports a 1.4GHz processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED display, five-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, VGA front-facer, 3GB internal memory, microSD card slot with up to 32GB, AGPS, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi a/b/g/n and 1,500mAh battery. It runs Bada version 2.0 and features Samsung's latest messaging offering, ChatON.

Next comes the Samsung Wave M with its 832MHz processor, 3.65-inch HVGA LCD screen, 150MB internal storage, 2GB inbox, microSD card slot with up to 32GB, five-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, VGA front-facer, AGPS, optional NFC, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n with WiFi Direct, 1,350mAh battery, Bada 2.0 on-board and ChatON preloaded.

Last but not least, the Samsung Wave Y with its 832MHz CPU, 3.2-inch HVGA LCD screen, two-megapixel camera with LED flash, 150MB internal storage, 2GB inbox, microSD card slot with up to 32GB, AGPS, optional NFC, Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n with WiFi Direct, 1,200mAh battery and powered by Bada 2.0.

Following Samsung's new phone naming convention, the Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y will be on display at this week's IFA 2011 held in Berlin.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Mesmerize will be receiving Gingerbread update

Great news for you owners of the Samsung Mesmerize (check out our review), as your phone will officially see the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update at some point. There have been a slew of devices receiving Gingerbread in the past few months, which has led owners of phones that have not received the update wondering when or if their turn would come. US Cellular's version of the Samsung Galaxy S has been a popular phone for the carrier, so it's good to see it committed to the updates. We don't have an official date yet, but you can bet as soon as we do, you'll know it.

Source: Facebook

LG Revolution Sequel Hits FCC as a World Phone

The likely successor to the LTE-enabled Verizon LG Revolution, known by some as the Revolution 2 or LG VS920, has passed the FCC. According to a leaked Verizon roadmap, the Revolution 2 is slated for an October 20 release date. It'll pack an 8MP camera on the rear and is likely to have a dual-core CPU. The FCC documents show the VS920 as having a GSM radio (in addition to LTE and CDMA), making it world-phone capable.

Source: FCC

Toshiba's Android-powered tablet gets thin at IFA

The Toshiba Thrive may not be the tablet for you, but Toshiba doesn't appear to be stopping its Android development any time soon. In fact, the above image is that of a purported tablet Toshiba is expected to announce at IFA. The details on this one have been kept rather slim for the sake of not wanting to ruin the announcement, but the images tell us a few things. Brushed metal design, powered by Android Honeycomb -- packed with a microUSB, a microHDMI and a microSD memory card reader. That's all we get for now but we're guessing more details will pop up before IFA takes place. One more shot can be found past the break.

Source: NoteBookItalia; 

Samsung officially announces LTE versions of the GALAXY S II and GALAXY Tab 8.9

The images came online late last week as with specs, today Samsung officially announced they’ll be releasing an LTE-enabled GALAXY S II and GALAXY Tab 8.9. Although Samsung neglected to give clear availability or pricing, this is a good sign for us Canadians as Rogers will be launching a couple LTE devices by the end of the year, possibly Bell and TELUS too. LTE (Long Term Evolution) devices have the capability of reaching peak download speeds of up to 100Mbps, and to upload at speeds of 50Mbps.

In their press release, Samsung confirmed the specs of the GALAXY S II LTE, this is “The world’s first LTE/WCDMA/GSM multi-mode support”, runs Android OS 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.5GHz dual core processor, 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, 8 megapixel camera camera that records HD videos, Wi-Fi and the ability to create a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 8 devices, 1850mAh battery, NFC (Near Field Communications).
In addition, the LTE Tab 8.9 looks like it’ll be released during the second half of the year, comes with Android 3.2 Honeycomb and Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, 8.9-inch WXGA display (1280×800 resolution), 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 3 megapixel camera and Adobe Flash 10.3.

Slacker Radio For Windows Phone Updated With Mango Support

Ever since the Windows Phone Marketplace has been accepting Mango-compatible application submissions earlier this week, software makers are updating their apps to take advantage of the cool features the Windows Phone platform refresh brings. Slacker Radio is one of those apps that just got updated.

If you're on T-Mobile and have a Windows Phone that's running Mango (either beta or RTM), you can grab the application and check out all the Mango goodness. You have fast app switching, background audio streaming, instant resume and the ability to control music playback from the OS volume control ticker at the top of the screen.

Source: Marketplace

HTC Holiday Pictured In The Wild

We first heard of the HTC Holiday when we first saw the renders of the phone initially believed to be an AT&T exclusive. Later on the Holiday was tipped for a global release and then a prototype popped-up on Craigslist.

The image above appears to be the first in-the-wild picture of the HTC Holiday. Just as we heard back in May, the Holiday will indeed sport a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.5-inch qHD display, eight-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 1.3 megapixel front-facer, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread on-board, with HTC Sense 3.0 on top of it. Additionally, the Holiday is rumored to be the first phone AT&T is planning to launch in its LTE market.

Source: Engadget

AT&T Samsung Captivate Gets New Android 2.3.4 ROM Leak

Back in June there was an Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread ROM Leak for the AT&T Samsung Captivate and more recently the phone saw its Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread ROM leaked to the public thanks to XDA Developers.

As you can see in the screenshot above, it's the latest Google platform and you can also check out the Kernel version. If you understand the risks and still decide to give it a shot, head over to the forums at XDA Developers in order to download. Make sure to read the instructions as well as user feedback before you take the plunge.

Source: XDA Developers

Samsung Gravity TXT available now at T-Mobile

T-Mobile has started selling a new messaging-focused phone, the Samsung Gravity TXT. New handset is provides both a full physical 4-row side-sliding QWERTY keyboard and a conventional T9-style keypad. This Samsung phone is makes easy access to stay connected at social networking.

The T-Mobile Samsung Gravity TXT smartphone packs a 2.40-inch display (no-touch input), a 2 megapixel camera, GPS, 3G, a 3.5 mm audio jack, and a microSD card support (up to 32GB).
Dimensions of Samsung Gravity TXT are 4.41 x 2.09 x 0.55 and weighs 112g.
The 1000 mAh Lithium ion battery is enabling up to 4 hours talk time, up to 300 hours on standby.

Acer Iconia A500 3.2 update now landing September 10th

 

The 3.2 update for the Iconia A500 promised for 25th August never showed, but Acer haven't left us out in the cold instead going public on why the date slipped. 

Posting on the Acer Malaysia Facebook page, the update now looks set to land on September 10th. Apparently they've been suffering some issues with the GPS settings, so thought better to put the update back than let it out in the wild with bugs. 

Updates are always welcome, so hopefully Acer will manage to work out all the kinks before September 10th. They have promised to update earlier if there's any news, but for now lets just take what they're offering. 

Source: liliputing

Telus Will Carry Pink and White BlackBerry Curve 9360 Phones

Research in Motion has recently announced its next-generation BlackBerry Curve 9350 and 9360/9370 variants with an August availability date for Canada. It looks like carrier Telus will soon feature the pink and white version of the phone.

After releasing the Curve 9360 yesterday -- black version -- Telus is preparing to add two more color variants to the table: white and pink. In addition to the images above, there's no other information related to availability. Price-wise we guess it will bear the same $49.99 tag given you sign a three-year contract with the carrier.

Source: MobileSyrup

Android Flash Player Gets Bugfix, Compatibility Update

Adobe has a new version of its Flash Player available for Android devices, and this time, it's thankfully not just a security fix.

Flash Player 10.3.186.6 contains a collection of compatibility fixes that, though they look to be a little specific in their scope, might just be the ticket if you were running into some unexplained issues viewing Flash content with a previous release.

If you ran into slowdowns when viewing really complicated Flash animations, the kind with plenty of vector elements moving on-screen at once, this release includes some optimizations that may help it play back more smoothly. A bugfix dealing with text inside Flash animations should correct a problem where words didn't wrap-around as they should have, and some changes to how a couple calls are handled should prevent crashes. There's also a fix that will let certain Flash files load where they wouldn't in the past, but Adobe doesn't specify what exactly it did to fix this issue.

Check for your update to Flash Player 10.3.186.6 in the Android Market today.

Source: Adobe

Android 2.3 Gingerbread now available to Bell Motorola Atrix owners

AT&T users have had the joy of Android 2.3 on their Motorola Atrix 4G devices for quite sometime now but Motorola has finally gotten around to unleashing it in Canada as well. If you have a Motorola Atrix on Bell, go ahead and check for system updates -- you should find Android 2.3 Gingerbread waiting for you. If you're not yet seeing it, just hold out a little bit longer -- it's coming.

Source: MobileSyrup

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V is almost identical in hardware terms to the existing Xperia Neo, but it comes with a newer version of Android and additional Sony Ericsson software enhancements for a better user experience.

The key hardware change is that the Neo V has a 5 megapixel camera where the original Neo has an 8 megapixel unit. It is unusual for a manufacturer to downgrade a phone like this, we suspect though that there might be supply issues with the 8 megapixel sensor either due to the earthquake in Japan and/or Apple buying up inventory for the next generation iPhone.
The new version of Android is 2.3.4, a pretty slight update to the version 2.3 in the original Neo. However, Sony Ericsson have improved the camera capture capabilities, video playback options and social networking services plus there is Google Talk with Video Chat (which is perhaps what the "V" stands for).
Hardware differences apart from the camera are extremely slight, with the Neo V coming in different colours (white looks particularly good) and some audio tweaks such as Sony's new xLOUD system.

Just to recap - this is a 1GHz device with 512MB of RAM, a 3.7" 480 x 854 pixel display, the 5 megapixel camera on the back has with 720p HD video capture, it has GPS, 3.5G, WiFi, microSD expandable memory and Bluetooth. Because this is an Android phone then it also has a web browser, media player and access to thousands of applications in the Android Market.

Nokia Next Version of Symbian Named Belle

Four months after Nokia announced its latest Symbian^3 refresh called Anna, the Finnish manufacturer today announced the upcoming version of the platform, codenamed Belle. Among the main attractions of Belle are the addition of new widgets, more options for customization, new applications and built-in NFC functionality.

The Belle widgets are live, free-form and resizable meaning commonly used widgets like clock, e-mail, music player, favorite contacts and the calendar come in several dimensions and have the ability of being resized. If, up until Symbian Anna, you were only allowed to have three home screens, Belle raises that number to six.

The status bar of Belle resembles the one of Android as it is now flat and incorporates pull down notifications tab a la Google's solution, incorporating settings and notification of incoming messages, missed calls and so on.

As a direct effect of the Nokia-Microsoft deal, Symbian Belle now includes a set of Microsoft applications like Lync, Sharepoint, OneNote, Exchange ActiveSync and PowerPoint Broadcaster. And, while still in the business category, Belle includes built-in NFC support for all your touch-and-pay needs (and more).

There's also an improved lock screen which alerts you of missed calls, messages and more, while the multitasking bit has been further improved with larger application thumbnails.

Existing phones, like Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7, E6 and 500 will receive their Belle update and new devices coming out of Espoo will ship with Symbian^3 Belle out of the box.

Source: Nokia Conversations

Samsung Announces Galaxy W, M Pro, Y and Y Pro Android Phones

After we recently heard about Samsung adopting a new naming convention for its upcoming smartphones, the Korean manufacturer just announced one "W" (high-tier), one "M" (mid-tier) and two "Y" phones (entry-level).

The high-tier phone is the Samsung Galaxy W which, aside from running Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread, sports a 1.4GHz processor, 3.7-inch WVGA screen, five-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and a 1500mAh battery.


Going to mid-tier, the Samsung Galaxy M Pro also runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 1GHz processor, 2.66-inch HVGA screen, five-megapixel camera, front-facing VGA webcam, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and a 1350mAh battery.

The first entry-level phone is the Samsung Galaxy Y. This one also runs Google's latest Android, 2.3 Gingerbread and is powered by an 800MHz processor, has a three-inch QVGA screen, tw0-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and a 1200mAh battery.

Last but not least there's the Galaxy Y Pro which should have roughly the same specs as the Y above, even though not confirmed. There's a hardware portrait QWERTY keyboard, and we should expect a 2.6-inch display, two-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, and Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread on-board.

Sprint Adds BlackBerry Curve 9350 To Its Stable September 9

RIM continued to roll-out its BlackBerry OS 7-running lineup with the announcement of the BlackBerry Curve 9350/9360/9370 this morning. While RIM didn't have anything to say regarding carriers or prices, much as it happened with recently-announced Bolds and Torches, carriers are following-up RIM's news by revealing who's getting what when. One of the first to speak up this time around is Sprint, announcing sales of the Curve 9350 beginning September 9.

Unlike the world-phone 9370, the 9350 is CDMA-only and has just 512MB of onboard flash, compared to the 9370's 1GB. All these new Curves, including the GSM 9360, have the same 800MHz CPU and 512MB of RAM.

Unlike the Bold 9900/9930, you won't be paying $250 for this model on-contract; instead, the Curve 9350 is practically a budget handset, and Sprint will start off sales with the smartphone going for about $80 with a service agreement. If you get your mobile service through Sprint Business, you may find an even better deal, with the possibility to snag the 9350 for closer to $50. Even at that low price, you still get a phone with modern features like NFC; not too shabby, even if this is the runt of the latest BB litter.

Source: Sprint

Swype release new keyboard beta; version 3.25 brings new gestures, dictionary, more

The uber-popular Swype keyboard just got a new beta version dropped on us, and it's a doozy. Version 3.25 brings new gestures -- like go from the Swype button to x to copy text -- plus shortcuts to Google Maps, Twitter and a personal dictionary.

Source: beta.swype.com

Is AT&T Thinking About Giving Up On The HTC Status?

When Microsoft launched its KIN phones last year, we barely had time to react to their presence before Microsoft pulled the plug on the project, deciding to focus all its phone efforts on Windows Phone 7. It's easy to draw a few comparisons between the KIN line and the recent arrival of Facebook-centric Androids. Besides the emphasis on social networking, there are even some physical similarities, with the HTC Status mirroring the general layout of an opened-up KIN One. Might the Status have a similar fate in store? A new rumor says AT&T may be ready to throw in the towel.

A source TechCrunch calls "trusted" and "close to AT&T" says that the carrier is thinking long and hard about dropping the Status after disappointing sales. AT&T has responded to the rumor, saying, "the HTC Status is a great product and our plans for it to be part of our portfolio haven’t changed," but would it really admit it was thinking about halting sales before finalizing its decision?

It's clearly not just social networking that's the problem, as those apps are popular on other smartphones, and it can't just be the hardware layout, since it works so well for BlackBerrys. It might be the combination of all these factors, making a smartphone that feels too laser-focused on social features. When you can pick up another Android with a larger, prettier screen, faster processor, and access to plenty of social apps, why settle for what might seem like a one-trick pony?

Source: TechCrunch, BGR

HTC Elegant Windows Phone Concept Design

Before you start getting excited about buying a device like this, these are just concept designs from freelance industrial designer, Kevin Zhou. These aren't leaked images of a new Windows Phone 7 from HTC and the designer does not work for HTC so they probably won't ever be produced. That said, we think this device looks pretty cool. The 3D renderings certainly look very realistic and the design aesthetics even go along with HTC's current creative direction. Would you buy an HTC Windows Phone that looked like that?





Source: Kevin Zhou

Motorola Droid 2 Global Gingerbread Update Leaks

Motorola revealed back in May that it was preparing Gingerbread updates for the Droid Pro, 2, 2 Global, and X. That plan sounded good, but things started to go south quickly, with a buggy Droid X update reportedly even bricking some handsets. Then we heard about the Droid 2 Global's update going into testing, and saw Verizon publish support documents on its site, pointing towards an imminent release of the update. That was all just a bit premature, and Motorola stepped in to set the record straight, that the update was not ready for release. Later, we heard that the D2G update might follow the release of the Droid 3, but again, it was nowhere to be seen, and by this point Verizon had removed the support pages for the update. We still don't know when if ever an OTA update for the D2G will be available, but a leaked version of the update been released, giving you the chance to get Gingerbread a little in advance.

System software 4.5.606 brings Gingerbread to the D2G. To install the update, your phone's going to have to be on 2.4.330 without any recovery installed. The update comes without root, and the bootloader is locked, but you can always restore the phone to 2.4.330 if you just want to experiment with the update a little. We'll have to wait and hear from users who have tried out the update themselves to learn just how refined it is, but this could mean that we'll be seeing an official OTA distribution in the near future.

Source: RootzWiki

Verizon officially unveils Verizon Video - more than 250 TV shows for $10 a month

Those of you with Verizon Android smartphones might have noticed a Verizon Video app pushed out over the past few days (yeah, we didn't ask for it either), and this morning Big Red has officially announced it.

Essentially, Verizon Video is exactly what it looks like -- on-demand streaming (powered by RealNetworks) of more than 250 television, and on-demand video from ABC, NBC, CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Animal Planet, CNBC, Disney Channel, ESPN, PBS Kids and others. You'll also have access to NFL RedZone on Sundays, NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and the NFL Network.

Verizon Video is available "on select smartphones," (we've got it on a ThunderBolt here) and is currently in a free preview. After the preview ends, a monthly subscription is $10, or you can try it out for 24  hours for $3.

LG Enlighten for Verizon Fully Exposed (Images)

After months of rumors and teasing, this is LG's Gelato Q QWERTY slider, poised to hit a number of carriers -- including Sprint, US Cellular, Cellular South, and Verizon, as the Enlighten. The Gingerbread-powered XX700 (VS700 on VZW) runs an 800MHz processor and features a 3.2-inch HVGA display. The camera is a 3.2-megapixel job sans flash, although editing software is built into the handset. Internal memory is reported to be 150MB, with a 2GB microSD card bundled into the package.

The keyboard-less Gelato has already been revealed as the LG Optimus Net P690.

Enlighten has been tipped for an August 25th debut (which is this coming Thursday) at a price that will probably start around $100 subsidized and drop down to nothing fairly quickly.

LG announces the Optimus Sol with 3.8-inch 'Ultra AMOLED' display

LG this evening announced the Optimus Sol (aka the LG -E730). And this things packed with a number of standout features. First off, it's running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, as well it should. It's boasting a 3.8-inch "Ultra AMOLED" display at 480x800 resolution, which LG says "has a two-fold advanced reflection rate compared to standard AMOLED displays," leading to better clarity outdoors, and a reduction in image quality degradation.

It's also got a new power-management system, which LG says will boost battery life by 20 percent to 30 percent.

Other specs of note:

• Qualcomm MSM8255 processor at 1GHz
• Network: Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900), dual-band UMTS (900/2100)
• RAM: 512MB
• ROM: 2GB
• Program memory: 150MB internal
• External memory: 2GB microSD card included
• Rear camera: 5MP with autofocus
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Wifi 802.11 b/g/n
• aGPS
• DLNA
• Dimensions: 122.5 x 62.5 x 9.8 mm
• Battery: 1,500 mAh

The Optimus Sol will be available in Europe in mid-September, followed by Central and South America. It'll be available in black, titan and white, subject to regional release.

Related devices:

Sony Ericsson Announces Gingerbread-Powered Live With Walkman

Sony Ericsson brand enthusiasts and music lovers will like this: the company has announced a new member of its Android and Walkman line-up, the Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman.

The phone will be shipping with the latest version of Google's Android platform, 2.3 Gingerbread, and it aims to combine the music experience with social networks. There will be deep Facebook integration, a media discovery application, and other great social as well as music features.

In terms of hardware, the phone sports a 1Ghz processor, 3.2-inch screen with 480 x 320 resolution, five-megapixel auto-focus camera with 720p HD video recording capability, VGA front facer for video calling, 320MB of ROM, microSD card slot with support for 32GB storage (2GB card included), 1200 mAh battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, DLNA and Sony’s xLOUD audio enhancement technology for music lovers.

The Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will be available in the last quarter of the year in both black and white flavors

Source: Sony Ericsson (1)(2)

Samsung Conquer 4G now available from Sprint

The Samsung Conquer 4G goes on sale today at Sprint stores, online, and telesales for a cool $100 on a two year contract. The mid-range Gingerbread device sports a 3.5 inch HVGA display, 1GHz processor, and both front and rear cameras. Oh, and let's not forget that the Conquer runs on Sprint's WiMAX network.

Source: Sprint

Nokia Readies N8 Camera Mega-Update For Beta Testing

We've been hearing for a while that the king of camera phones, the Nokia N8, is going to receive an update which will improve its camera even more. The refresh is supposed to add 30 fps video and continuous auto-focus, among other things.

The update is open for beta testing and is applicable to Nokia N8 phones running Symbian Anna. It brings a ton of imaging-related features to the phone, such as UI improvements, more Settings, faster, improved red-eye removal and much, much more. These all come, of course, in addition to the highly anticipated 30fps video mode and continuous autofocus. If you don't already have Symbian Anna, you might want to check for the update and apply, after which you can head over to the Beta Labs and install the camera update.

Source: Nokia Conversations, Nokia Beta Labs

BlackBerry Bold 9930 Unboxing (Video)

The BlackBerry Bold 9930 on Verizon wireless has been a hotly anticipated device: it packs an improved keyboard over previous generation Bold devices, a fast 1.2GHz Qualcomm CPU, 768MB of RAM, a 2.8" VGA screen (granting a PPI of 286) and BlackBerry 7 OS. We don't cover BlackBerry on Pocketnow as much as we cover the other platforms, and so we're going to approach our coverage on this device from the perspective of an Android/iPhone/WP7 user that is exploring the world of BlackBerry. The 9930 is currently shipping on Verizon for a pricey $249.99 after a two-year contract.

StraightTalk Is Getting The Samsung Galaxy Precedent

TracFone, Walmart's mobile virtual network operator is preparing to enter the Android world with the Samsung Galaxy Precedent, a phone that very closely resembles Boost Mobile's Prevail.

While the exterior is so close to the Prevail, we can't be sure of the internals but the phone will be wearing a $149.88 price tag with no contract. There's also the Straight Talk $45 monthly unlimited plan which offers unlimited voice, text and data so this device can be a great choice for many.



Source: StraightTalk

MSN Movies Updated with Mango Support

The MSN Movies app for Windows Phone 7 has recently been updated with Mango support. The app now shows up in the "Apps" tab when you search for movies in Bing, and the "Buy Tickets" buttons next to showtime search results in Bing will now deep-link into the MSN Movies app's section for buying tickets for that particular movie... which actually just loads the MovieTickets.com mobile site within the MSN Movies app, but it works fine. So in other words, searching for movies in Bing with the intention of buying tickets at a nearby theater has become much easier.
Of course the standalone app still has the usual features where you can browse movies, showtimes, theaters, and news as well as stream high quality movie trailers.

Samsung Galaxy Precedent coming to Straight Talk

Straight Talk, the TracPhone MVNO featured nationwide at WalMart locations, is introducing the Samsung Galaxy Precedent, the latest prepay from Samsung, and it very closely resembles the Boost Mobile Prevail.  We can't be sure the innards are the same, but we also can't see Samsung building a completely different model at these price points -- $150 with no contract and on Straight Talk's $45 monthly unlimited plan.  Straight Talk uses the T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon networks, so we're not exactly sure if this is a GSM or CDMA device, but we are sure it looks like a bargain and should make for an excellent phone for the value shoppers out there.  We've got a short promo video after the break, and you can sign up to stay in the loop at the source link.

Source: Straight Talk

BlackBerry App World 3.0 Going To Released on August 22?

The third version of BlackBerry's AppWorld hit the Beta Zone at the beginning of this month and rumor has it that RIM will be releasing the App World version 3.0 on August 22.

If you've been waiting for the update, and even been beta testing version 3.0.0.54 for a while, you know that the new AppWorld will make finding new apps easier. Managing already installed applications will also be improved and there's a general UI make-over. If the rumors turn out to be true, you'll be able to have your final version 3 of the AppWorld this Monday, August 22.

Source: N4BB

White Samsung Galaxy S II also bearing to T-Mobile UK

Not to be outdone by the rest of the British telecom providers, T-Mobile UK also has a landing page for a white Samsung Galaxy S II online.  It's the same 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, with the same beautiful Super AMOLED plus screen, but the shell of the phone has been done in white -- which is sure to attract at least a few people.  No specific date has been set, but T-Mobile lets us know it's due September 2011,

If your interested in details about the release, including the pricing, sign up for information at T-Mobile UK -- see the source link.  Samsung, please bring this stateside!

Source: T-Mobile UK;

Weekly Android Application 19 Aug 2011

In this episode of the Android Application Weekly we demonstrate some apps that will allow you to capture HDR photos, share your media over a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, and convert file formats. To download these directly to your Android smartphone or tablet just take a picture of the QR-Code using Google Goggles or any other QR-Code scanner or click on the app title link to be taken directly to the Android Market.

HDR Camera+ – Lite and $2.99 full version



With HDR Camera+ you can capture high quality photos from any quality Android camera. There are many settings available and the app is really easy to use. Just point at what you would like to take a picture of, click on the screen, and specify where you would like HDR Camera+ to save the image.



Media Converter – No lite and $2.99 full version



With Media Converter you can convert practically any file format into another format. Just select which file you would like to covert, whether it be a video, image, audio, or document and Media Converter will get working.



VidTrim – A lite and $2.54 full version



VidTrim is a great app for anyone that wants to edit their videos on the go. Just select which video you want to edit, place the markers where you want VidTrim to cut and press the scissors. VidTrim will save the new video as an original or replace the existing file.



Plex – A free application



Plex allows you to browse and play your video, photos, and music right on your Android device, streamed from Plex Media Server from your Mac or PC. Just select which files you want to stream and connect to your server. This app will work over Wi-Fi or a cellular connection.



Blast Monkeys – A free application



Blast Monkeys is a fun and addictive puzzle game. The object of the game is to shoot Moki, the little monkey, into the bananas and reach the final goal. Collect the three bananas on each level to earn a higher score.


Live Wallpaper – Photo Cube A lite and $1.63 full LWP