Samsung Galaxy S3 Is “Explosive,” Literally

A user of a British forum, www.boards.ie, has reported how his Samsung Galaxy S3, fitted in the car holder, suddenly ignited, emit a lot of smoke and melting the plastic case.
According to the owner, his Samsung Galaxy S3 wasn’t connected to any source of power, so he can’t explain how it burst into flames. Samsung reacted quickly to the complaint and confirmed on the company’s official blog that once the device will arrive at their labs, an investigation will be started to look into the causes that led to the incident.

Long story short, a couple of days ago, a Samsung Galaxy S3, bought form one of the biggest phone retailers in England, Carphone Warehouse, exploded. After the owner held his quad-core model into the car docking kit, without the recharging cable attached, instead of heating up or turn off like any other smartphone would do, it started to smoke and it finally sparked into white flames, followed by a bang. As you can see in the gallery bellow, the Samsung flagship smartphone was pretty damaged…

Microsoft Rolls Out Xbox 360 Firmware Update For Everyone

It’s available! The latest Xbox 360 firmware update has been released by Microsoft. However, this is just a “light” update as it doesn’t bring anything spectacular and your Xbox Live experience won’t change. In fact, Microsoft doesn’t intend to make any major modifications, the update being meant only to prepare the systems for more important updates that will come in the future. Larry Hryb, Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live, also know as Major Nelson, reported that the update is mandatory for all users.
Hryb confirms that the improvements can’t be noticed as they are not visible, but will make the updatecoming this fall much easier. Nevertheless, a real update has been made but only for some regions meaning New Zealand and Australia. For the people who live there, the Kinect voice search feature has been added. A strange thing is that the update affects some controllers. In other words, the update makes the controllers of third-party company Datel not to work anymore. This is not such a serious problem as Datel is offering firmware updates for the gadgets in order to fix the problem.

As you probably know, a big Microsoft event is taking place right now. Besides, big news like the information about Windows Phone, Microsoft also revealed several new features included in the next Xbox 360 firmware update that will come next fall. Among these new improvements we have some new video streaming options for live sporting events , the SmartGlass platform which enables the users to make a second screen for the Xbox 360 out of their tablet or smartphone, and also the Kinect’s voice recognition feature which allows new methods to interact with the console. Other details about when the updates will beavailable have not been offered yet.

Nokia Lumia devices to get SW update on June 27th, Finally getting WiFi tethering

Nokia had announced its intentions to bring support for features like WiFi tethering to its Lumia series of phones a few months back but we haven’t heard anything about it since then. Now the company has finally gone on record and has announced that the update is expected to roll out on 27th June. We’re still not sure if this is the long rumored Tango update.
The software is expected to bring features like WiFi Tethering, media sharing from the phone via the ‘Play To’ app and also accelerometer based functions like Flip to silent . In the coming weeks Nokia willalso be rolling out updates to some of their key apps like Nokia Drive to enable more advanced features. There is currently no time frame announced for the impending Windows 7.8 update which will bring the new homescreen from Windows Phone 8 in addition to other features.

Current Windows Phone devices to get WP 7.8 update with new start screen

Windows Phone users who are feeling shafted post the Windows Phone 8 announcement can sleep a bit easier tonight. While they still won’t be getting the complete update due to the sweeping changes in the backend, they will still get the new user interface which is one of the more obvious changes in the OS.


The new interface allows users to resize app tiles. Three specific sizes have been defined by Microsoft. Small, Medium and large which would correspond to  1×1 , 2×2 and 4×2  in terms of spaces on the icon grid. Unfortunately apps compiled just for Windows Phone 8 will not be backwards compatible which doesn’t bode too well for current users. In addition there are expected to be some other Windows Phone 8 features which should make their way back to the WP 7.8 update which the company will reveal closer to launch. 

HTC Desire V Dual SIM Smartphone now available in India for Rs. 21,999

HTC Desire V that was announced earlier this month is now available in India from online retailer Flipkart. The HTC Desire V is a Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) phone with Dual Standby but not Dual Active like the recently launched Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos. It pack in a 4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display, 1GHZ single-core processor and runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with HTCSense 4.0 UI. It is  9.32 mm thick and weighs 114 g.

It has 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash and has Beats audio support. Other features include, 512 MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD. The connectivity features include, 3G HSPA/WCDMA on one SIM and 2G GPRS/EDGE on the other, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, micro-USB, GPS / AGPS, 3.5 mm audio jack. It has 1650 mAh battery.

The HTC Desire V is now available in India from Flipkart for Rs. 21,999. They also offer 8 GB Sandisk Memory Card free. It is expected to ship in 6-8 business days.

Sennheiser India launches Online Store

Sennheiser India has launched their own online store at shop.sennheiserindia.com. You can buy Sennheiser Headphones, Headsets and Microphones for your Stereo system, MP3 player, Mobile Phone, Computer etc. from the store. The website is operated by Net Distribution Services Private Limited (NDSL).

You can choose from range of headsets. For example, you can select a mobile phone headset from iPhone compatible headsets, Mono or Stereo Bluetooth headsets etc. You also search for a product based on the its name (keyword) or by price range under each category. After adding the items in the cart, you can quick checkout by entering you address or add a password to create an account for future use.

Like most of the Online stores, they offer Free Shipping and payment options like Credit / Debit Card and Net Banking. Sadly there is no Cash On Deliver (COD) option that many online retailers such as Flipkart and others offer. They promise to ship the item withing 5 to 7 business days while its competitor offer shipping within 2 to 4 business days.

LG Optimus 3D MAX and Optimus L7 officially launched in India

LG has officially launched the Optimus 3D MAX, successor of the LG Optimus 3D and the Optimus L7from the L-Style series of phones that was unveiled at MWC 2012 in India. The LG Optimus 3D MAX and the Optimus L7 went on sale in India earlier this month from online retailers.

The Optimus 3D Max has 4.3-inch (800 x 480 Pixels) IPS display with Corning Gorilla Glass 2 protection that would offer Glasses-Free 3D viewing and is powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processor with Tri-dual (Dual Core, Dual Channel & Dual Memory) architecture. It also has 3D Hot Key allows you to quickly switch between 2D and 3D views.

Sharp Feel UX – new Android UI for upcoming Aquos Smartphones

Sharp has partnered with frog, a design agency in US to bring the new Feel UX for their upcoming AquosAndroid smartphones. The Feel UX would offer highly interactive experience with its unique lock screen which would let you listen to music, open camera, share images and more directly. You can also check e-mail, weather and stock prices in real-time and phone call history from the lock screen.

SwiftKey 3 out of beta, now available for Download at 50% discount for limited period

SwiftKey 3 is now available for Android phones and tablets from the Google Play Store . The SwiftKey 3 Beta was launched in April and it was updated in May with new features. They have also introduced SwiftKey Healthcare Keyboard for doctors, nurses and other health professionals to enable them to take faster and more accurate notes on their tablets.

New Swype Beta for Android brings Multimodal Keyboard, Next Word Prediction and more

New Swype Beta for Android from Nuance version 1.0.3.5809 has got a new interface that has been redesigned from ground up. It also has new features such as Multimodal input with four input modalities on one keyboard such as letter to letter, predictive text input powered by XT9, Swype input and voice input. The new living keyboard feature builds a personal language to lean new words and it also predicts next words. It has Voice and Text Dictionary Sync and Default dictionary editing.

Asphalt 7: Heat for iPhone and iPad available

If you are one of the iOS faithful that loves racing car games, and have been patiently awaiting the arrival of the seventh instalment in the Asphalt series, then you just might like to know you can now get your racing cation on with Asphalt 7: Heat, which is now available for the iPhone and Apple iPad.
The Asphalt 7: Heat iOS app enables the gamer to take control of 60 different cars from manufactures such as DeLorean, Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Ferrari, and race those cars over 15 tracks set in real cities across the globe including tracks in London, Miami, Paris, Rio and Hawaii.

Angry Birds Space free for iPhone and iPad available

As one of the Android faithful, like all Android users out there I have been able to play every version of the popular multi-platform game from Rovio, Angry Birds for free, whilst the iOS faithful have had to pay for their green pig bashing fun. However that has now changed with Angry Birds Space as Rovio has released free versions of the app for both the iPhone and iPad.

However before all the iOS faithful Angry Birds fans get too excited at a free version of Angry Birds Space for the iPhone and Apple iPad, unfortunately there are limits with the free apps in as much as you’ll only get access to ten levels of pig bashing in zero gravity.

Android ICS 4.0 update hitting Sony Xperia S now

Google is expected to announce the next version of the Androidoperating system soon in the shape of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, but in the meantime a vast range of Android hardware continues to wait for the current version to arrive, and we now have news that the Android ICS 4.0 update has been released to the Sony Xperia S.
When Sony originally released their latest flagship smartphone there was some disappointment and raised eyebrows that it arrived with Android 2.3 Gingerbread instead of ICS, but asSlashGear are reporting Sony did promise to update the handset, and true to its word the IceCream Sandwich upgrade is now started its roll out to the Xperia S.