Tag: Android

Watch the Launch of the Galaxy Grand Live on iGyaan

Samsung is ready to announce the Galaxy Grand for the Indian market at 12:30 on January 22nd 2013. Bookmark this page to watch it live. The Samsung Galaxy Grand is dual-SIM smartphone and features a massive 5-inch WVGA display , which as per the resolution (800 x 480 pixels) can be termed as average at best. The smartphone runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. Under the hood, the Galaxy Grand is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor coupled with 1GB of RAM so we can easily expect a smooth operation on the device for the most part.

The device looks strikingly similar to Samsung’s current flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3 and comes with 8GB of internal storage along with a micro-SD card slot using which, users can expand the storage on the device by up to 64GB. For connectivity, the Galaxy Grand features 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS Glonass and DLNA.

Apart from these features, Samsung Galaxy Grand comes with some unique features as well. Some of the features on the device include ‘Direct Call’, which enables users to automatically dial a call by raising the smartphone to the ear.

Popup video allows the users to watch a video in a pop-up window anywhere on the screen while running other tasks on the device. The AllShare Play feature allows the users of the device to share content across different Samsung devices using just a single account. Another interesting feature is the ‘Smart Alert’. which shows missed events such as missed calls and new messages when users pick up their phone.

The Phone will be launched tomorrow January 22nd for India, expect a full detailed hands on video along with more relevant details for the launch.

January 21, 2013
HTC M7 Spotted with Sense 5.0

HTC M7 has to be the worst kept secret for the company, with images and renders doing rounds on the internet, Android Police has an image and screenshots for the M7, a prototype HTC smartphone. Quite similar in looks to the Droid DNA for Verizon and similar in specs too. However the M7 appears to be running Sense 5.0

The widgets and the overall look of the UI seems to have been overhauled. The locations of buttons resemble the Windows Phone 8x along with the front facing camera. While the design is reminiscent of the Butterfly and the DNA it feels like a completely new device. Lets see what HTC has in store for us at Mobile World Congress.

[Android Police]

January 21, 2013
Sony Xperia Z To Receive Android 4.2 Update Shortly After Launch

Sony will be rolling out an update to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean shortly after they launch their new Xperia Z smartphone sometime in the next couple of months, likely in March. Talk Android reports that the news came earlier today on Twitter, during a company question and answer session.

From Sony’s Twitter account: “Xperia Z launches on JB 4.1, but will receive 4.2 shortly after launch. As always, we’ll share more info on this over the coming weeks on the blog.”

The Jelly Bean 4.2 update will bring some modest improvements over 4.1, like a more reactive user interface through touch-responsive CPU boosting, automatically resizing widgets, lock-screen widget options, and Android Beam, which is basically that “tap to share” feature that the Samsung Galaxy S3 boasted in its launch advertisements.

While it’s great that Sony is promising quick action on the update front, especially since if they do follow through with it in good time it will be one of the first non-Nexus devices to run Google’s newest OS, we’re left wondering whether the whole thing is lip service to a very small group of users and journalists.

As we’ve reported earlier, the Sony Xperia Z will be a quite impressive piece of hardware to run Android Jelly Bean on, no matter what version you have. With a five inch screen capable of 1080p high definition resolution, a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM, and a 13 megapixel rear camera with 16x digital zoom, the Xperia is going to be a hot smartphone to have when it releases sometime in the next couple of months (it’s being released in the United Kingdom on March 1st, so it’s a safe bet that soon after it will land here).

January 19, 2013
Opera To Launch WebKit-Powered ‘Opera Ice’ Browser For iOS And Android in Febuary

Opera Software, the company behind the popular browser of the same name, will launch a new smartphone and tablet browser called Opera Ice in February, Pocket-lint has revealed. It is an attempt to stay relevant and take the fight to Google and Apple in the mobile browser stakes.

According to a preview obtained by Pocket-lint, the company plans to do away with many of space-wasting icons and boxes, opting instead for gestures and big, beautiful icons.

The company will launch Opera Ice for Android and iOS, and it will be optimized for tablets as well as smartphones. It appears that the new version will take over from the traditional Opera Mobile as the company’s flagship mobile browser, but it will still offer its bandwidth-saving Opera Mini browser for legacy smartphone users.

The app focuses on gestures to navigate between pages and to access the home screen, which resembles an iOS or Android screen with bookmarks that mimic native applications. Opera means to utilize WebKit to ensure ultimate standards compliance, and to allow HTML5-based web applications the most space to run. The company is betting on HTML5 as a cross-platform development unifier and WebKit, as we saw recently with Microsoft’s mobile IE10 woes, is the only true player in the space at the moment.

The company also stated that it may bring a Windows Phone version to market, but it first wants to evaluate whether there is enough demand for such a product.

Look for Opera Ice to debut during Mobile World Congress next month in Barcelona.

[Pocket-lint]

January 19, 2013
Google Chrome Beta Receives First Update To Fix Bugs
Google Chrome beta for Android was released just five days ago, but it has already received its first update in what looks to be a coming trend. The desktop beta and developer channels receive weekly updates and Google is unlikely to slow down its improvement schedule for mobile, especially since both versions share a significant proportion of code.

These bug fixes are mainly about interaction with specific websites, but there are some overarching performance improvements on some devices. These are also a number of outstanding bugs to contend with, including poor performance on the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S. And while the beta version did decrease the propensity for crashing on the Nexus 10, it didn’t eliminate it altogether. Hopefully this will be addressed in the coming weeks.

If you’ve already downloaded the Chrome beta via the non-searchable Play Store link, you’ll see an update available for you today. If not, head to this link and get downloading. Chrome beta, like its sibling, is available for Android 4.0+ devices only.

This update contains a number of fixes, including:
- 164632 – Edit Bookmark is broken
- 167351 – Youtube video controls are lost after returning from fullscreen
- 167016 – Some Samsung Galaxy S2 freezes
- 168062 – Double tapping on non-zoomable sites scrolls the page to the top briefly before returning to original position
- 167379 – Sometimes tabswitcher is frozen
- 166998 – Tab content stretched out while returning to it through side swipe gesture
- 168632 – Crash – Stack Signature: TabAndroidImpl::FromWebContents
- 168388 – Sync signed in info text’s font size is too small
- 168430 – Bookmark star icon doesn’t turn grey/white immediately after bookmarking URL /deleting URL from bookmarks
Known Issues:
- Performance is sluggish, noticeably on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S
- Frequent freeze on devices with specific versions of Qualcomm GPU driver
- Text autosizing may break formatting on some sites
- Video continues playing after exiting fullscreen on android phones
- [HTC Droid DNA] Getting crash on tabswitcher mode
- 163439 – yahoo.com page links are not working
- 166233 – Cannot submit comments on facebook posts or pictures
- 165244 – Text handler jumps or disappears when moving
- 162486 – iframe scrolling broken
- 158633: Tap disambiguation overaggressive
- 169910 – Flickering while opening new tab
[Mobile Syrup, Android Task Force]
January 16, 2013
LG Denies New Nexus Phone After Rumours Surface

Getting hold of an LG Nexus 4 through Google’s official device store hasn’t been an easy task. It’s been two months since release day, and throughout most of that time the device has been either sold out or on back-order. It’s safe to say that the Google Play buying experience has been less than ideal for many.

Last week, some sites reported on a new rumour out of the LG camp. It was a thin rumour with little evidence to back it up, but it went like this: LG is not having trouble producing Nexus 4?s, but is rather ramping down production in order to replace it with a new Nexus phone, likely a Nexus 5, in time for Mobile World Congress.

There are some shaky rumours out there — heck, even we report on some from time to time — but this one was just ridiculous. The truth is out there, folks, and that story contained none of it. Instead, it looks like LG is producing Nexus 4?s as fast as it can make them, and there are other reasons why they’re not getting into users’ hands. And it’s pretty simple. LG has said that the rumors about the company working on a new Nexus device are “unfounded”.

[quote]LG is cranking out Nexus 4?s as quickly as it can make them; according to a company representative, there is nothing fishy going on. “There is no problem [with] supply,” he said, indicating the company’s Pyeongtaek factory is producing the device “without a hitch.” We should see more stock in the Play Store soon — that sales channel isn’t going anywhere, and will still be the preferred method for most people — but it will also expand into new areas.[/quote]

Yes, it’s frustrating that you can’t buy one today in India, and likely won’t be able to in the coming future.

[Android Central]

January 15, 2013
Google Nexus 4 Gets Android 4.2.2 in Brazil and Malaysia

While most of the world is seeing Android 4.2.1 as the latest version of Jelly Bean, it looks like Google has quietly begun rolling out something a bit newer. According to new reports, Google has begun rolling out Android 4.2.2 in select countries. So far the reports are pinpointing just two countries — Brazil and Malaysia.

According to a recent report, LG Mobile’s production facility situated in Taubaté, Brazil has already started churning out Nexus 4 smartphones today in hopes of catching up with the overwhelming demands, an interesting twist to this story is that at least a thousand of these quad-core packing monsters have — purportedly — been loaded with Google’s latest version of the Android Jelly Bean platform so don’t be surprised if the Nexus 4 you have ordered via the Play Store portal will come running the Android 4.2.2 operating system.

Also, a new leak reveals the LG Nexus 4 in Malaysia running the new, unannounced software from Google.

True or not, we suggest taking this news with a grain of salt since it’s still unknown if the leaked image is legitimate — but, like we’ve previously mentioned, the fact that Google has stopped letting users download the Android 4.1.2 may give us a vague clue as to what Google is really hiding up its sleeves and the Android 4.2.2 may just be the answer we’ve been waiting for.

source: Adrenaline.uol.com.br

January 12, 2013
Leaked : Samsung Galaxy M Pro II GT-B7810

The Samsung Galaxy M Pro was Samsung’s answer to a possible end of time for Blackberry, for those who were shifting over to Android anyway. The Galaxy M Pro II sequel to the original should expect a bunch of changes. As apparent from the image, the phone will have a completely new trackpad and keyboard design. The Samsung Galaxy M Pro II will also feature a new shell, or mostly an upgraded color with a metal-effect design.

Rumors are pegging the display back to the original version with a 4×3 grid and a 480 x 360 capacitive touchscreen. It is also know that the phone will now be running Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, juiced from a 1,200mAh battery, HSPA 3G and has a micro-SIM slot.

The device has been in schedule for the past 6 months offering a more keyboard and trackpad controlled design and UI, but it is known if the GT-B7810 will make it to the market or not.

[Blog of Mobile]

January 3, 2013
Samsung Rolling Out Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Firmware For Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 received the first Jelly Bean (Android 4.1.1) update to two weeks ago. While the previous update started rolling out from India, this time the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 users that have been chosen by Samsung to be blessed with the first Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean firmware update are French. The new update has already started rolling out and you can get it via Samsung Kies and on-device software update feature. You can check for the OTA update from Setting> About> Software Update.

In case you are not from France, or if you are unable to get the OTA update to Android 4.1.2 on your Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3100 because you have rooted it or for some other reason, you can still update your device to the latest version of Samsung’s Jelly Bean update version 4.1.2. In fact the firmware released for France is an Unbranded one, therefore it can be flashed on any Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (model number GT-P3100) across the globe that is not locked to a mobile operator/carrier.

Firmware Build P3100XXCLL2 Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 GT-P3100
Region: Europe
Country: France
Android version: 4.1.2 Jelly Bean
PDA: P3100XXCLL2
CSC: P3100XEFCLK1
Baseband/Modem: P3100XXCLJ3
Build Date: Dec.12 2012

Samsung has added a lot of new features for Galaxy devices with the Android 4.1.2 update, most of these features are found from the Galaxy Note II. Here are some few features on 4.1.2 :
- Multi-Window (Multi-View allows users to run two apps splitting on the screen at the same time)
- New Gallery App
- Notification Panel
- Brightness Slider in Notification Panel
- Continues Input in Samsung Keyboard
- Paper Artist App
- Group Cast App
- Page Buddy
- Smart Rotation
[Droid Views]
December 30, 2012
Hurry! WhatsApp Free In App Store For Limited Period Of Time!

The wildly popular message client known as WhatsApp is now free for all to download on iOS. This mobile application usually goes for 99 cent, but for a limited time, users will get it free of charge. WhatsApp is a cool way for users to avoid SMS fees in mobile phone plans, as it lets users send messages to other members of the service over the internet.

Although the app is free for now to those rocking an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, folks on Android will continue to get it free, with a $0.99 yearly fee kicking in after the first 12 months.

A few things to note before handing you the download link. On iOS, WhatsApp is compatible only with the iPhone because it’s a telephony application that uses your phone number to let other people reach you. In other words, iPad and iPod touch devices are out.

It requires iOS 4.3 or later and has been recently optimized for the iPhone 5. It works with pretty much all carriers and networks but some carrier limitations may apply in certain territories.

WhatsApp supports English, Arabic, Bokmål, Norwegian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

December 21, 2012
Samsung Launches Galaxy Grand 5 inch WVGA Single / Dual Sim Jelly Bean Smartphone

Samsung has just announced that it will unveil the new Samsung Galaxy Grand at CES 2013 in Las Vegas. The Galaxy Grand will be available in Single and Dual Sim variants and boasts of a 5 inch WVGA display with a native 800 x480 px display (read: pixellated). The Galaxy Grand will also run Jelly Bean 4.1.2 out of the Box and will also feature a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. The new Phablet style phone will also have a host of the premium suite apps from Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, including Multi Window and Pop Up Play.

The Galaxy Grand has a 8 Megapixel Main camera and a 2 MP front faces with 720p video calling. On the inside you will find a 2,100mAh battery, 8GB of built-in storage and a microSD slot for expansion up to 64GB. Famous for various connectivity options Samsung includes HSPA+, Bluetooth, DLNA and WiFi.

The Galaxy Grand is expected to hit Asian markets including India early 2013.

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Samsung GALAXY Grand runs Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean), Google’s latest operating system. Its vivid 5.0’’ display provides an expansive viewing experience, presenting messaging, multimedia and Web content in brilliant color and clarity. Even with the large screen, the phone is still slim, ergonomic and comfortable to hold. You can also enjoy true multitasking running multiple apps simultaneously and without switching screens using Multi Window feature.

GALAXY Grand with an impressive 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor supports seamless multitasking, faster web browsing, lightning-fast screen transitions and superior graphics for some of the most demanding apps and games.

The GALAXY Grand sports a powerful camera with zero shutter-lag and ultra-quick camera start-up. It includes a backside illumination sensor to ensure clear shots even in dark conditions, as well as Full HD video recording.

Samsung GALAXY Grand also includes intuitive features that make the phone easy to use. For example, Direct Callenables users to automatically dial a call by raising the device up to the ear; while users can also shake the phone to trigger status updates, or pan it to zoom into a screen. Smart Alert shows missed events such as missed calls and new messages just by picking up the phone. Popup Video, for example, lets users watch video in a pop-up window anywhere on the screen while running other tasks; S Voice lets you control the phone using your voice; and AllShare Play lets you share content across Samsung devices using a single account.

The phone is pre-loaded with the latest versions of Samsung Hubs to deliver the most popular games, movies and music direct to the user on demand.

The GALAXY Grand will be available in two versions – The Dual SIM version (GT-I9082) will launch first and the single SIM version (GT-I9080) will follow. For the dual SIM version, its innovative dual SIM feature provides total communication flexibility, allowing users to manage two phone numbers from a single phone. It is possible to receive calls on one SIM number while taking a call from the other, ensuring efficient management of personal and work commitments without ever missing a call. Dual SIM also offers the flexibility of selecting different billing plans for either SIM, switching between them to make the most of cheaper call and data plans.

[/toggle_box]

December 18, 2012
Galaxy SIII Premium Suite Update 4.1.2 gets Detailed on Video by Samsung

Samsung had started pusing out Jelly Bean 4.1.2 to some phones yesterday, but has now made an official video highlighting the features and calls it a Premium Suite. The Galaxy SIII Premium Suite brings a lot to the already popular SIII, including most of the features that are shared by big brother the NOTE II. A customizable notification panel, smart rotation, Page Buddy, Multi Window, new multitasking, NFC and reader features, plus contextual awareness tweaks that adjust the phone around your actions.

[box_light]

Contextual Awareness

(1) Page Buddy: Galaxy SIII Premium Suite will smartly predict what you intend to do according to your actions. For example, when you plug in your earphones, the device automatically opens up a page with the music player.

(2) Galaxy SIII Premium Suite Contextual Menu:  When you list up apps, you can now choose to see the most frequently used ones first. Especially convenient when you’re looking through apps  to find files to attach.

(3) Contextual Tag:  When you take a picture on the Galaxy SIII Premium Suite, you can tag the weather, date, and place immediately.



Enhanced Features

(1) Multi Window: You can open two different apps at the same time into two different windows on the mobile screen.

(2) Auto Share Shot Pairing using NFC: By setting the camera to ‘Auto Share Shot’ mode, you can quickly share your photos and videos by simply tapping their Galaxy SIII Premium Suite with other NFC and S-Beam enabled devices

(3) Reader Mode: You can easily control the size of the text on your browser! Also, you can just click the webpage to share it!

(4) Facebook Lock Ticker: The easiest way to see your Facebook News Feeds – set your Galaxy SIII Premium Suite to show it on your lock screen.

[/box_light]

December 7, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S3 Users Reportedly getting 4.1.2 Updates with MultiWindow Feature
While most users are still complaining about the Android 4.1 jelly bean update not yet being available on the Samsung Galaxy SIIIs, a few users reportedly have gotten the Android 4.1.2 update. SamMobile claims that Android 4.1.2 is starting to reach Galaxy SIII international 3G model, with multi-window support. While most users over the world will not get this update, Poland is first in the list and most users are reportedly busy downloading updates. More Apps from the Galaxy Note II like the gallery app, Smart Rotation and other apps may come in future updates.

Unlocked units will also be the first to get the updates, carrier-locked handsets will take a little while longer, though if previous releases are anything to go by, most networks seem pretty keen to push Samsung’s firmware updates as fast as possible to keep customers happy.

According to owners of the Gaalxy S3 GT-I9300 GS3 in Poland, Android 4.1.2 has hit their device, bringing with it the Note 2?s famous “Multi-View” windows for superior multitasking. There’s also a few TouchWiz applications that have been updated. Here’s everything worth looking forward to in the JZO54K update:
- Multi-View
- Page Buddy
- New Gallery App
- Notification Panel can now be customized (sweet!)
- Brightness Slider in notification panel can now be disabled
- Smart Rotation
- Continuous Input in Samsung Keyboard
- Paper Artist App
- Group Cast App
The update, currently rolling out in phases, will be available in other countries shortly.

[SamMobile]
December 6, 2012
Ad Block Plus for Android not only Rids ADs from Browsers but also from Apps

The newly launched Ad Block Plus Android app is a derivative of the original and much loved Ad Block Plus for mainstream PC OS. The Ad Block Plus Android app is available for free in the Google Play Store claims to “block all annoying ads on your Android device” including “mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising and much more” without requiring any rooting.

There are limitations to the effectiveness of the Ad Block Plus Android app, Non-rooted Android devices running Android 3.1 or later can only block ads over Wi-Fi and devices running Android 3.0 or earlier requires some manual configuration. Rooted devices however will have full access to blocking ads over Wi-Fi and 3G.

The Ad Block Plus Android app will bring a lot of promise to users, the only people who will be unhappy with Ad Block Plus are Advertisers and App developers who rely on the AD revenue.

November 28, 2012
Samsung Premium Suite Coming To Galaxy Note 10.1 in JB Update

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1’s software is about to get a lot more useful, thanks to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the company’s “Premium Suite” of apps.

The original Galaxy Note got the same boost when it was updated to Ice Cream Sandwich from Gingerbread earlier this year, and the upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 update promises truly useful inclusions.

Perhaps most importantly, the two-window multitasking, which wasn’t multitasking at all but merely two apps loaded side-by-side, will be changed to Samsung’s Multi Window feature. This allows up to 16 separate apps to be open at the same time (remember, the Note 10.1 has 2GB of RAM), each of which can be resized and pinned to a side of the tablet. This allows for real multitasking, something we’ve yet to see on a tablet.

Samsung is also bringing its S Pen preview feature, Air View, to the Galaxy Note 10.1 with Jelly Bean. This allows users to hover above a photo album and preview its contents or, better yet, check ahead in a video clip without interrupting it.

Premium Suite will also include Adobe’s Photoshop Touch, as well as existing S Pen-based tools such as Knowledge Search, Easy Clip, Colour Picker as well as Shape and Formula Match.

November 24, 2012