HTC’s upcoming tablet the Puccini had earlier been leaked from the outside, now its time for screenshots to leak out. HTC is taking advantage of the 1280×800 resolution by tacking a number pad onto the keyboard; tabbed browsing also benefits from the increased real estate versus seven-inch models.
PocketNow estimates that the device will ship by the end of this year during the holiday season.
HTC chief executive Peter Chou on Tuesday said that the Taiwan-based smartphone vendor is scheduled to launch between six and eight new smartphone models this quarter.
After their immense profit reporting in the last quarter and with over 12.1 Million phones shipped, the Taiwanese giant are planning to up the sales by introducing new units. the expected growth for Q3 is a million , taking total sales to 13 million.
Chou also stated that all of the devices HTC launches in the third quarter will be middle or high-end models, and therefore HTC has no plans to launch low-priced models in the market, uncompromised to price competition.
Are you somebody important, do you work in a big corporation, or even for the government? Do you have an Android Phone? You might consider changing devices after reading this article. A new trojan app / bot that installs itself on any Android device via piggybacking over unknown source apps has found its way into the Android architecture. Ca Technologies found that this easily built app lookalike trojan records your conversations and installs like any other app.
There is no solid information weather this trojan has been released into the world, or if devices are already prey to such a menace. It goes to say some developer could easily capture your calls and upload them to a remote server. The brilliant part about it is that while installing you might get a warning stating that the app will record your calls, but who reads the terms page anyway?
Next time you are installing an App on your Android device , especially via an unknown source, or patched apps, make sure you go through the permissions page with vigilance.
Now thats a way to make the students happy, University of Southern Mississippi handed out Galaxy Tab 10.1 devices to Honor students for the year 2011-2012. The devices are also preloaded with text and syllabus for the academic year, including the ability to purchase books and check grades.
Initially only a 1000 tabs were given away to students in the Honors College, McNair Scholars, Southern Style, and Gulf Coast programs.
Now thats a way to motivate the students, maybe the Indian universities should take some inspiration from this. Although it appears that the devices were sponsored by Samsung , look at the video below.
[Engadget]
Here it is, we got over a thousand requests for the Andro A70 Unboxing and Review, while the review process is on, check out the unboxing and hands on below.
Key Features Include
The Dell Streak never really gained popularity in India, but its successors might catch on if the timing is right. The new Dell Streak Pro 10 / 10 Pro has been launched globally with a unveiling in China yesterday. The device has interesting specs and a really good price, it is also backed by Dell’s reliable service in India.
Price of the 16GB WiFi tablet plus 2GB of cloud storage for just ¥2,999 ($465) (Rs.22,000). Stay tuned while we try and contact Dell for official word on release in India.
The new Gmail app v 2.3.5 available now via the marketplace update adds a lot of new features to the on system app. the most important feature is the ability to sync only priority inbox with your device allowing you to save up on battery life. The other new feature that we like is label specific tones allowing you to customize the way you receive email.
Officially What’s in this version:
1. Save bandwidth and battery by only syncing priority mail
2. Use label notifications to mash up filters, labels, and ringtones
3. Remember ‘Show Pictures’ for senders
4. Turn off sticky message actions in landscape or all orientations
5. Better TalkBack support for accessibility
6. Performance improvements
One of the most successful smartphones of the year, the Samsung Galaxy S2, will now be available in White starting August 15 in the UK. The device is expected to hit India around the same time. The Samsung Galaxy S2 has been the most sought after cellphone in India, right after the iPhone 4 and above the LG Optimus 2X and HTC Sensation.
Samsung hopes to continue to sell the device through december, when a newer Galaxy with a 2Ghz dual core processor is supposed to be announced for 2012.
HTC’s first 10 inch tablet has been leaked, in conjunction the device looks almost identical to its predecessor the HTC Flyer.
The device features
Google’s latest update to its Android Platform is all set to come to a tablet near you. The new version is an incremental release which adds several new updates for developers as well as users. The new version includes many changes to the Android API.
A few highlights for the new version:
Motorola has already begun to roll out the 3.2 update to its Xoom tablet. Other tablet candidates for the 3.2 update include Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1, Acer’s Iconia Tab 500 and Toshiba’s Thrive. Huawei made an announcement last month for what it claims to be the worlds first 7 inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb Tablet which has a dual-core processor.
The LG Optimus Black Was announced just recently in India, and we are here today with a quick unboxing and hands on preview of the device.
Important specs include:
| Name | Type |
| Operating System | Android OS v2.2 |
| Dimensions | 122mm x 64mm x 9.2 mm |
| Weight | 109g |
| Display Screen | 4 inch WVGA IPS LCD |
| Processor | 1 GHz Cortex A8 Processor |
| RAM | 512 MB |
| Storage | 2GB Internal + 32GB Optional |
| Camera | 5 MP Rear : 2 MP Front (AF) |
| Video | 720P VIDEO @30 fps |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, 3G, GPRS, EDGE, A-GPS, Bluetooth v3.1 with EDR |
| Battery | 1500 mAh Li-Ion |
One of the Smartest Smart Phones to hit our country, The Samsung Galaxy S2 has gathered a lot of public attention. But, does it stand up to the challenge put out by Day-to-Day Smart-Phone use? Lets Find Out!
The Galaxy S2 has a nice design, a sleek body and extra tough glass. But the build quality of the phone may not be up to the mark. The device features a total plastic construction that defies all laws of mobile phone existence. At just 8.5mm thick the device boasts an extremely slim profile. The back panel/cover is a flimsy piece of plastic that is fidgety to remove and put back on and also rattles when the phone is shaken.
The screen on the other hand is extremely tough, it also resists scratches and impacts without a question in mind. Overall, the build is solid, the plastics don’t bend easily and are not cheap to look at either. But are not nearly enough when you compare it with what you pay for the device.
In terms of hardware the two major things working for the Indian version of the Samsung Galaxy S2 are
The performances of these two major hardware components can be seen from the get go, and are attracting people towards the GS2. There is also 1 GB of RAM, giving an effective 853MB for usage (we really don’t know why only 853 is there totally). There is no NFC on the Indian Samsung Galaxy S2, and why would you need it anyway? The 8 MP rear camera with full HD video recording, a 2 MP front camera, 1650mah battery. You can also check out the full Spec Sheet Here
The Camera on the S2 is brilliant; the screen viewfinder makes it even better. The colors are projected to the screen as-is, and are captured beautifully with the 8MP lens. The camera is fast to focus and has great exposure values. Tap to focus lets you select you subject and one click capture brings you an experience that’s hard to replicate. The camera app is also packed with a long list of settings and effects you can tweak and play around with. Shooting modes, scene modes, effects, image size, exposure values, white balance, noise reduction and anti shake to name a few.
Macro mode is exceptionally great as it can capture close-ups with great detail. There is also a timer, ISO settings, Metering selection, blink detection and geo-tagging. The S2 has a fully loaded camera app and a great camera lens to go with it. Overall performance of the camera is easily notable and can replace your point and shoot camera for day-to-day use. The flash is bright and has a great field of coverage.
Video capture at 1080p is smooth and without frame drops, although you can notice the autofocus on the camera struggle during the video recording output. Videos are clean and the microphone picks up sound just great. Video is so good in fact we actually shot an unboxing video on full HD with the Samsung Galaxy S2 – Check it HERE
Sounds from the speaker are actually louder than we expected. Audio quality is clear and speech notions can be understood easily. Why we emphasize on speech is because you will be watching a lot of videos and movies on the STUNNING AMOLED PLUS display. It is the best possible display from Samsung to date. With amazing depths of color and a great resolution (480 x 800) the display is very vivid. Colors are bold and there is no washout even at greater viewing angles. Some may argue that the colors on the screen are not what they appear to be, and the AMOLED screen gives a heightened look to a normal display/video.
The included earphones are not a great match with the S2, the bass on the earphones is poor, watching movies or listening to music. If you enjoy good depth, you wont enjoy the included earphones. The placement of the main speaker can also be bothersome, especially when you hold the device in landscape to watch videos or play games. You will find your fingers covering up the main speaker for a total loss of sound.
Nice large dialer, good speaker, strong mic and excellent network performance make the Galaxy S2 a great phone aswell. We tested the phone capability over extended periods of use and failed to get one reason to complain about the device. It was pure performance for the phone through out.
The Keyboard on the GS2 is well spaced out in portrait and is very responsive during those long messaging sessions. You also have a huge list of settings that you can modify to make the keyboard a complete unit for you. From auto text to auto replace, modifiers and word learning, the keyboard is simply intelligent. You can also switch to the included Swype keyboard for a faster input experience. In Landscape, typing is fast and efficient and the keys are wide enough to compile long emails without breaking a sweat.
Getting a smartphone like this? Expect to get a 3G data plan if you don’t already have one. This phone turns you into an “on the go data monster”. With the constant need to feed information into the device the unit comes ready to handle all sorts of online activity, from social feeds directly on your homescreen to business mails in a secret box. You get the latest news, weather information and stock prices without ever needing to install an app or setup the device. 3G / HSDPA performance is somewhat good, we found that the device would drop the connection to the server and would require a restart of the data service from the settings app. We have never faced a similar issue with any other Android device an it appears to be a glitch in the software somewhere. Another thing to note, is that when the device is in this suspended data connection mode, the back of the phone starts to heat up incredibly fast which leads to an equally fast battery drain.
Wi-Fi Hotspot, also acts up (due to the network error we presume) and you will find your self constantly struggling with the error messages on the portable hotspot window.
If you haven’t read the section above we suggest you go ahead and read it. The battery life is largely affected by data mismanagement.
| Values | 2G | 3G | 3G with Error |
| Talk Time | upto 7 Hours | 4.5 hours | 1 hour |
| Standby time | 36 Hours | 24 hours | 6 Hours |
| Web Browsing | 8-9 hours | 4-5 hours | – |
| Video Streaming | 4 Hours | 2 Hours | – |
| Music Streaming | 14 hours | 6 hours | – |
Wi-Fi Values stand more or less the same with 2G data
We though we would include this section just to clarify a lot of questions. While the device is perfectly capable of running high graphic games, you will not find us showing you videos of any such games for one simple reason. They don’t work on the device. Most games like Fast 5, NFS shift Asphalt, Assassins creed, Settlers crash on start up and some don’t show visuals. This is possibly a software -hardware integration glitch and perhaps the games are not designed to run on dual core smart phones. Other games like Angry Birds -All, Gun Brothers and our new favorite Age of the Zombies work perfect and without any issues.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is India’s second phone to boast a dual core processor, and after our previous let down, we a happy to say that Samsung has managed to utilize the dual core- Android combo perfectly and has made it possible for the end user to enjoy the total experience. The phone is not only fast and responsive it is a super performer. All visuals play smooth, graphics and renders are fast all of this with tons of ram to spare. The Galaxy S2 also uses Android suspend multitasking which enables you to pause your ongoing app in real time and switch to another app, and then come back to the previous app without loosing data, or in our case lives.
There is the heating issue that is causing battery loss but we believe its due to the data glitch and can be resolved by switching data modes, or turning on data as and when required (which can be troublesome, but is a quick fix until Samsung can fix it). If you haven’t already seen the benchmarks, check them out here.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 is highest spec’d phone available in India through official channels, its thin and light, its got a beautifully vivid display and a dual core processor that’s on steroids. The Galaxy S2 is ready to perform from the get-go and looks good doing it. Yes its got a flimsy looking build and some overheating issues. But why do we feel okay looking past those? Possibly because poor build usually leads to a damaged display, but in this case the gorilla glass wont let that happen. As far as the battery drain- data error issue, Samsung is already working on pushing an update that will fix these issues.
[xrr rating=4.25/5 label=”We Rate The Galaxy S 2 : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
PRICE :
Rs: 30500/-
US$ 700 /-
UNBOXING VIDEO
REVIEW VIDEO PART I
REVIEW VIDEO PART II
Over 15,000,000,000 apps have been downloaded by some 200,000,000 users from the Apple App Store. In total, the App Store has around 425,000 applications available for sale. Last Thursday, Google announced that over 6,000,000,000 app downloads had been made by some 135,000,000 users form the Google Marketplace, which has around 250,000 applications available for sale.
The growth of Android is spurred on by the release of new Android smart phones and tablets in the market. While the tablets might not be able to dislodge the iPad from the top spot, the smart phones are giving the iPhone a run for its money. Google CEO Larry Page said that new Android devices are activated at a rate of around 50,000 per day. Despite the number of activations, the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch still lead the pack.
At present, Apple’s iOS remains the number one mobile operating system but speculation is ripe that its just a matter of time before Android overtakes iOS to become the leading mobile operating system.
Apple’s largest manufacturer of their devices like The iPhone and The iPad – Foxconn (they also the worlds largest contract manufacturer of electronics) will now produce the Android gutted tablet from the stables of Amazon. A report released yesterday claims that a 10.1 inch display is in the manufactory, and Quanta Computer, another contract manufacturer from Asia, is already shipping a 7 inch device to Amazon.
Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) has reportedly landed orders for 10.1-inch tablet PCs from Amazon with shipments to begin in 2012, while Quanta Computer has begun shipping a 7-inch model to Amazon. Foxconn declined to comment on market speculation.
The smaller version dubbed “coyote” packs a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra processor and will be available in Aug-Sept timeframe. While the larger 10 inch version will ship later this year and is dubbed ” Hollywood”, has a quad-core Kal-El chip.
Foxconn already manufacturers the Kindle for Amazon, about 12 million a year, compare that to the 40 Million iPad for Apple this year and it seems like even Foxconn has a lot to loose if they loose Apple as a client.
Looks like Apple lost on securing their manufacturer by signing an exclusive deal of tablet manufacture with them. It is highly unlikely of Apple to allow such a thing to happen, hopefully no high level exec gets fired from cupertino – because he didn’t read his memo!
The mastermind behind a flurry of chipsets for Mobile phones, also responsible for graphic benchmarks like Neocore. Qualcomm has just launched the Vellamo Benchmark for Android devices. This benchmark if for mobile browser lagging tests. Vellamo is essentially a suite of 11 tests designed to gauge browser performance on Android phones and tablets.
To operate it requires any Android Device over OS 2.0
