Tag: ICS

Leaked : Sony Xperia U ‘Kumquat’
Sony’s first handset, after their major split with counterpart Ericsson, might be rolling into the Mobile domain. the Sony Xperia U “Kumquat” might just have shown itself before purported launch at MWC 2012 next week. Specs include
- 3.5-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) Reality Display
- 1GHz dual-core CPU
- 8 MP Exmor R sensor with 720p video capture
- 1,290mAh battery
- Android 2.3.7
While the battery is replaceable, the OS is rumored. This phone could possibly be placed at a lower bracket compared to exiting SE phones. Oh the wonders of a new breakup.
February 21, 2012
LG Optimus Vu 5 inch Released with pen Stylus and 1.5 GHz processor (PR)

LG has released the Optimus VU smartphone in Korea on saturday, that truly banks in on the success of the Samsung Galaxy Note, because of the large screen size and included Stylus pen. The device also features a nice 4×3 aspect ratio, 1024×768 resolution screen, which has a stylus friendly 5-inch IPS LCD display. The phone is also extremely slim at just 8.5mm thickness. It will be available in March with select carriers in Korea. LG promises an upgrade to ICS within 3 months for device availability. For shutterbugs the device features an 8MP camera at back and a 1.3 MP front snapper.

As far as the stylus is concerned, it seems a rubber stylus is all you’ll need for this device.

Expect the device to hit India in Summer for a meager Rs. 25000 Price (when compared to the Note). LG is banking their 2012 spring back on such devices.

Key Specifications:
– Chipset: 1.5GHz Dual-Core Processor
– Display: 5-inch (1024×768) IPS Display
– Memory: 32GB eMMC and 1GB DDR2
– Camera: 8MP with AF LED Flash (rear) and 1.3MP (front)
– OS: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
– Battery: 2,080mAh
– Dimension (L x W x D): 139.6 x 90.4 x 8.5mm

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LG UNVEILS UNIQUE 4:3 RATIO, 5-INCH OPTIMUS VU: AT MWC 2012
With Productivity in Mind, LG Demonstrates its LTE and Display
Leadership with Device that Does, Well, Everything

SEOUL, Feb. 19, 2012 – LG today unveiled one of the most anticipated LTE devices, the Optimus Vu:. Equipped with LG’s advanced LTE and IPS display technology, the Optimus Vu: offers a unique combination of tablet-like viewing with smartphone portability. Running on a powerful 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 32GM internal memory and a large 2,080 mAh battery, the Optimus Vu: is a multimedia lover’s dream device.

“The Optimus Vu: was designed to maximize what customers could do with a smart-phone,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. “By offering an optimal 4:3 ratio viewing experience, 5-inch display combined with superfast LTE technology, Optimus Vu: is just one example of what we can achieve when we combine our best technology with customer needs.”

The large 5-inch display with bright 4:3 aspect ratio makes viewing documents, books, internet and multimedia contents easier and more comfortable. The 4:3 aspect ratio is optimized for viewing to grasp more at a glance and note taking to increase productivity in everyday life. Moreover, IPS display realizes every color in its natural state for the best viewing experience even under bright sunlight.

Backed by unparalleled speed and performance from LG’s advanced LTE technology, the Optimus Vu: boasts unmatched productivity. Its unique built-in QuickClip™ hotkey allows users to conveniently capture screenshots and memos with a single push. Jotting notes is also possible with a finger or with the dedicated Rubberdium™ pen. Among many productive apps installed in the Optimus Vu:, the included Polaris Office allows users to open any document, spreadsheet or presentation while on the go.

At only 8.5mm, the Optimus Vu: is the slimmest among all LTE phones currently on the market and is perfectly suited for a hand and fits comfortably in a jacket pocket. Despite the large 2,080mAh battery, the Optimus Vu: adopts LG’s exclusive floating mass technology to appear slimmer than its actual dimensions.

In addition to HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), Optimus Vu: comes with 32GB memory and an 8-megapixel camera. While it will initially launch running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is already in the works.

The Optimus Vu: will be introduced in Korea in March. Additional information on the unique Optimus Vu: can be found at the LG Stand (Hall 8) at MWC 2012 from February 27 to March 1.

Key Specifications:
– Chipset: 1.5GHz Dual-Core Processor
– Display: 5-inch (1024×768) IPS Display
– Memory: 32GB eMMC and 1GB DDR2
– Camera: 8MP with AF LED Flash (rear) and 1.3MP (front)
– OS: Android 2.3 Gingerbread
– Battery: 2,080mAh
– Dimension (L x W x D): 139.6 x 90.4 x 8.5mm

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February 20, 2012
Asus postpones ICS for Transformer

Asus has pushed the dates for the ICS release for their Transformer tablet to end of FEB -March 2012. The update is however, happening and will be seeded via an OTA download directly on the transformer. As always we will have a hands on preview of the OS on the tablet.

[ASUS Singapore]

February 17, 2012
Samsung releases Galaxy Tab 2 (7 inch) with ICS out the box
Samsung has just announced its new 7 inch Galaxy Tab, aptly dubber “Tab 2.0”. The new galaxy Tab 2.0 will come with Google’s ICS “Ice Cream Sandwich” upgrade to android pre installed. Two versions – 3G and Wifi with specs that include :
- 1GHz dual-core processor
- 1GB of RAM
- 1024 x 600 LCD
- Android 4.0
- 3 megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front
- HSPA+ connectivity
The device is set to launch in the UK by March and to hit India soon after.

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Samsung’s new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers optimal multimedia experiences in life

February 13, 2012

Samsung expands the GALAXY Tab range with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) powered by the AndroidTM 4.0 and a 1GHz dual core processor

Prague, February 13, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today introduced its first line-up of tablets for 2012 with the launch of the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0), expanding the choice of tablets to customers. Light and portable, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) is the ideal personal on-the-go device, available in 3G and WiFi versions. Starting from UK, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will be launched in global market from March.

“Two years ago, Samsung GALAXY Tab began to offer customers more possibilities on the go. Since then, Samsung has actively enhanced our tablet line-up with several tablets in different sizes,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “The new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will provide people with delighted multimedia experience and allow efficient communication.”

Samsung’s first Android 4.0 Tablet

Samsung’s first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered tablet offers a variety of new and improved Android OS features. An upgraded Android Market enables access to more than 400,000 applications which can be enjoyed across phones or tablets. Furthermore, a more intuitive user interface includes the ability to swipe-control applications as well as a wholly redesigned app gallery for easier sharing of content. The new OS’s vastly faster performance and response times across multiple applications is further enhanced by HSPA? 21Mbps or WiFi connectivity.

Additionally, Android 4.0 includes a selection of embedded Google applications that enables users to quickly launch sites and applications that they use frequently; meanwhile, the innovative Face Unlock feature unlocks the tablet through unique facial recognition software.

A complete experience with enriched multimedia content

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers users easy multimedia access, playback and sharing experiences with Samsung Hub services. Samsung’s Music Hub provides a full music store solution with access to over 17 million tracks. Additionally, the Readers Hub provides the user with access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazines and over 2,000 newspapers in 51 languages, while the Game Hub instantly connects users to the latest game titles. Samsung is also introducing the Video Hub, which offers over 1,000 film titles for purchase or rent, and provides reviews, trailers and recommendations for easier content selection using the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0).

Complementing the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s multimedia offering is Samsung’s upgraded Touchwiz user interface that features Hub widgets for one-step access to users’ content in Hubs; the device also presents S Suggest, a new service offering recommendations of apps suited to users’ tastes directly on a home screen.

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s superb multimedia experience is further boosted by Samsung’s AllShare Play, a new content-sharing service available for the first time on any Samsung mobile device. AllShare Play allows users to play or live-stream their multimedia content on their GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) from PCs, other Samsung smart devices as well as third-party web storages. Users can also easily transfer content to other devices or directly to web services.

Better Communication Capabilities

Connecting socially has never been easier with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s built-in powerful communication capabilities.With the voice call capability, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) can be used just as easily as a phone, affording users the handy convenience of a second device in case they misplace their primary phone. It also lets users to spontaneously arrange multi-party video calls via Google? hangouts, as well as engage in group chats or micro-communities to collectively chat or share content. In addition, ChatON, Samsung’s cross-platform communication service, connects all phone users of any platform into a single community. ChatON uses phone numbers instead of ID and passwords, and provides easy instant messaging and group chatting in various formats-images, video, voice, contacts-to make messaging simple and intuitive.

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February 13, 2012
HTC announces ICS updates rolling in March for Sensation and Sensation XE

HTC has just updated their Facebook to announce its ICS rollout plan. ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich is the most anticipated Android update since android Froyo. it brings a whole host of changes to the table, and it will be interesting to see how HTC updates their Sense UI to add to ICS. According to HTC’s announcement the HTC Sensation and Sensation XE will be the first to get the updates followed by HTC EVO 3D, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD

HTC has been working hard to get its Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades ready, and we’re excited to announce that our first round of ICS upgrades will roll out by the end of March for the HTC Sensation and HTC Sensation XE, followed soon thereafter by the HTC Sensation XL.

In addition, we can confirm Ice Cream Sandwich upgrades will be coming later this year to the HTC EVO 3D, HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S and HTC Desire HD. Stay tuned for more updates on Ice Cream Sandwich releases in the coming weeks

FOr those in the US HTC has announced ICS updates for the Rezound, Vivid, Amaze 4G and EVO Design 4G. The US devices will get updates by the end of 2012.

[HTC (UK), (US)]

February 10, 2012
CyanogenMod 9 Alpha Brings ICS to Much awaited HP Touchpad

The buggy build of ICS on the Touchpad we saw earlier has been let out to public. Among the things that currently don’t work are Market access, hardware accelerated video and the camera. The project is developing fast so fixes should be expected really soon.

The source code for the release has also been outed so if you want to play around with your own version of the build you can do that quite easily. Triple boot of webOS / CM7 / CM9 is possible but the developers are currently recommending against it.

[RootzWiki]

January 18, 2012
Developers port CM9 to TouchPads, Owners rejoice!

The developers who initially bought Android to the touchpad have a glimpse of what is to come. The CM9 build for HP Touchpad is almost ready and the developer has released a video showing it off. There are still a few bugs in the system, like camera and video playback not working. But the dev assures everything else works smoothly. The video goes on to demonstrate that Angry Birds plays great on the Touchpad on ICS.

Check out the Video Below.

January 14, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus Announced, Bigger yet less (PR)
Samsung has announced the sequel to their highly successful Galaxy Ace, the new one is dubbed aptly the “Galaxy Ace Plus”. the specs include a 1GHz processor, five megapixel camera, 3GB internal memory, HSDPA and a 3.65-inch HVGA (320 x 480) screen. Apart from really resolutions the device is expected to be launched somewhere in the Rupees 18000 price mark. The device is running Android 2.3 with TouchWiz and will most probably get the ICS update, no official word on it though.

The screen is much larger than the previous version and retains the same pixel density, therefore reducing the pixels per inch to . The device will go on sale in January for a price somewhere in the region mentioned earlier, unless Samsung pulls a Omnia w/ Galaxy R on the consumers and announces the device for somewhere in the 12000 price region ( too hopeful?)

Full specs :
- 1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM,
- 3GB of internal memory, microSD card slot
- 3G speeds at up to 7.2Mbps on the downlink
- 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash capable of recording 480p videos at 30fps,
- 1300mAh battery,
- Samsung TouchWiz on top of Gingerbread,
- Wi-Fi b/g/n, A-GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0.
[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Play and Share Faster and Smarter with the GALAXY Ace Plus January 3, 2012

New addition to Android-powered GALAXY portfolio delivers style, power and versatility

SEOUL, Korea – January 3, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the introduction of the Samsung GALAXY Ace Plus. As an enhanced version of the widely popular GALAXY Ace, the GALAXY Ace Plus is the smartphone for trendy and sociable young professionals. The GALAXY Ace Plus will be available in Russia starting from January 2012, and will be gradually rolled out to Europe, CIS, Latin America, Southeast and Southwest Asia, the Middle East, Africa and China.

“Samsung Mobile is opening 2012 with the introduction of the Samsung GALAXY Ace Plus, which will help enhance the GALAXY brand following the huge success of the GALAXY S, GALAXY SII, GALAXY Ace and GALAXY mini. The GALAXY Ace Plus benefits from the Android™ Gingerbread platform and Samsung services, which provide a better mobile experience for more consumers,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “In 2012, we will continue to make every effort to create an easy and fun mobile experience by expanding our incredibly popular GALAXY smartphone range, which is now one of the most recognized and successful mobile brands in the world.”

Style and power with expanded features

Building on the previous GALAXY Ace style heritage, the GALAXY Ace Plus is a stylishly designed smartphone contained in a modern and minimalist casing with rounded edges, featuring an affordably-sized 3.65” HVGA display. The phone has been designed to be simple yet elegant.

The GALAXY Ace Plus is backed by an impressive 1GHz processor and HSDPA 7.2 Mbps connectivity, providing all the versatility and browsing performance that today’s busy and sociable young professionals need. WiFi 802.11 functionality offers lightning-fast speeds for browsing, downloading and video streaming. Application startups are faster with virtually no lag time, even while multitasking. Additionally, an impressive 2GB of shared storage capacity for multimedia content and up to 1GB of direct storage for applications-more than any smartphone in its category-allow users greater content freedom and usability.

Running on Android Gingerbread and featuring Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, the GALAXY Ace Plus allows users to handle mobile tasks faster and more efficiently. New music playback functionality features a play progress bar and the ability to view music tracks in folders. Call features allow users to reject calls with text messages or add unwanted callers to a black list log. For added productivity, users also have the option of using ThinkFree, a tool that enables viewing and editing of Office documents, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDFs, while on the move.

The GALAXY Ace Plus enables users to stay connected through Samsung’s Social Hub, Music Hub and ChatON services. ChatON, connecting all phone users-across any phone platform-into a single community using phone numbers instead of usernames and passwords, provides an easy instant messaging, group chatting and sharing of content in multiple formats-images, video, voice, contacts, calendar-to make messaging simpler and more intuitive than ever.[/toggle]
January 4, 2012
Samsung Galaxy Note gets early Buggy Ice Cream Sandwich vis Cyanogen Mod 9

Proud owner of the Samsung Galaxy Note? This should interest your anxious thought process. A new rom based on CM9 will give your Note the most anticipated ICS update well ahead of schedule. The Rom will not retain full pen functionality and all of the S-Pen input is currently not available. This build is also lacking a working camera app and Bluetooth radio functionality. Either way a ROM with more stabler features can be expected soon.

The one thing to note is that Samsung will soon release their updates for ICS to their own Android device arsenal, this will also include an update for the Galaxy Note, which will retain the Samsung Touch Wiz user Interface. So ensure you know what you are getting into, before you try out experimental roms on your precious 5.3 inch device!

January 4, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S2 to Get official Ice Cream Sandwich through Kies soon

Various builds of ICS on the Samsung Galaxy S2 have started to leak out, indicating that they are meant to be upgraded through Kies. They consist of an early Android 4.0.1 build made on December 20th and version 4.0.3 crafted soon after. These builds are much more improved than the builds released earlier, included cosmetic changes and less neon looking notification. The builds also seem to have better integration with Samsung Apps.

January 4, 2012
Samsung Galaxy 5 already Running Ice Cream Sandwich courtesy CM9
While big smartphones struggle to get their fix of Google’s new OS. Folks over at MadTeam, the ones that got us the original Cyanogen on the Galaxy 5, have managed to port over Android’s new baby Ice Cream Sandwich to the Galaxy 5. Although the port is not complete and is not recommended for daily use, infact basic functionality of the device is broken. Check out the list below.

Working:
- Hardware Acceleration (Some Parts)
- Touchscreen
- WiFi
- Audio
Broken:
- Telephony
- 3G
- GPS
- Sensors
- Bluetooth
- Market
- USB Mounting
- WiFi Hotspot
- Tethering
- JIT is Disabled (So, the ROM is slightly slow)
- Keyboard (Doesn’t appear completely on the Screen)
While the team is currently removing the bugs, It is recommended that you stay away from this build bless you want to loose all functionality. We expect the full release to come out soon, and will present a full upgrade guide once we have tested the build for ourselves.

[Madteam]
December 24, 2011
Galaxy Tab 8.9 gets unofficial Ice Cream Sandwich (Video)

A group of Galaxy Tab 8.9 owners couldn’t wait anymore and decided to homebrew their own Ice Cream Sandwich build for the Tab 8.9. Using files from the upcoming final build of Cyanogen Mod 9, this home cooked build is anything but final. Bluetooth, GPS, hardware acceleration and the accelerometer are functioning, while Wifi still remains a problem. The group is refraining from releasing builds for download at the moment, but they are promising quick updates. Check out the video preview below, but if anything, like a user comment, it seems it was recorded on a potato.

[XDA forums]

December 24, 2011
Dell Streak gets official Gingerbread update

Still holding on to that Streak from the past? Dell has issued a Gingerbread update to most of the streak division and should be hitting up Indian update servers shortly. It has been more than a year since Gingerbread was announced, and we don’t know if Ice Cream Sandwich is supported on this device, or will ever come officially. Although most Streak users, including our very own one was ported to a custom rom a long time ago. Those who still enjoy their device on 2.2 can update it to official 2.3.

You can also download the Rom (use 350 Recovery to install it) from this LINK

December 23, 2011
Samsung confirms list, Galaxy SII and Note will get ICS easily 2012 (PR)
Samsung has finally confirmed that most of its top end devices will support Google’s next OS “Ice Cream Sandwich”. This confirmation comes after weeks of consumer engagements and let downs. Samsung will be rolling out the Upgrade to ICS sometime in the first quarter of 2012. The upgrade is most likely not an OTA update and will require a full flash of the device using their proprietary desktop software called “Kies” The full List of devices includes

[threecol_one]

Confirmed Devices
- GALAXY S II
- GALAXY S II LTE
- GALAXY Note
- GALAXY R
- GALAXY Tab 10.1
- GALAXY Tab 8.9
- GALAXY Tab 7.7
- GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus
[/threecol_one] [threecol_two_last]

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Samsung Electronics plan to provide the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for GALAXY devices. The platform update for GALAXY S II and GALAXY Note will start in the first quarter 2012, and other GALAXY devices will soon follow.

The ICS-upgradable devices are the GALAXY S II, GALAXY S II LTE, GALAXY Note, GALAXY R, GALAXY Tab 10.1, GALAXY Tab 8.9, GALAXY Tab 7.7, and GALAXY Tab 7.0 Plus.

For upgradable models, Samsung will make separate announcements on details of OS updates schedule for each market according to market situation and carriers’ requirements.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Samsung GALAXY Nexus, the first Ice Cream Sandwich powered smartphone, were first unveiled at a Google/Samsung joint news conference in Hong Kong on October 19th.

Ice Cream Sandwich brings an entirely new look and feel to Android. It has a redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full Web browsing experience. Ice Cream Sandwich also features a new People App which lets users browse pictures, messages and social network updates from friends, family and co-workers.

Ice Cream Sandwich also introduces innovations such as Face Unlock, which uses facial recognition to unlock the smartphone. Using NFC technology, Android Beam allows users to quickly share Web pages, apps and YouTube™ videos with friends by simply tapping two phones back-to-back. Users can even use fun effects while shooting video or video chatting with Google Talk™.

* Google, Nexus, Android, Android Market, YouTube, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Calendar are trademarks of Google, Inc.

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[/threecol_two_last]

This is a major let down especially for those who were on other Samsung devices, hoping to get in on the ICS action. Fear not the developer community is still strong, and almost all devices sporting a processor faster than 650MHz will be able to get a custom developed ICS ROM.

[Samsung]
December 21, 2011
Google Begins Updating the Nexus S to Ice Cream Sandwich

Got yourself a curvalicious Nexus S? Then you might fancy yourself a Ice Cream Sandwich. According to a tweet from the GoogleNexus team early last night, Google will now begin pushing ICS updates to lucky Nexus S owners. The information was also available on Goole+

[threecol_one]“We’re rolling out Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, to GSM/UMTS Nexus S devices over the coming month, starting today”[/threecol_one]

[threecol_two_last]The Nexus S is among the first phones to officially get the ICS update. Google has also made note that the Nexus One may also get ICS down the line.[/threecol_two_last]

[Read]

December 17, 2011