Samsung to announce next Galaxy at event on August 15th

Apple and Samsung have long been battling it out in various courts around the world over alleged patent infringements, but many feel that Apple is simply running scared of its rival as it now enjoys a greater level of success in the mobile world. The company is now set to announce the next Galaxy device at a special press event on August 15th.

As TechCrunch are reporting Samsung has been busy sending out press invites for a major product announcement on August 15, which as the company puts it will be for the unveiling of the “newest GALAXY device”. The company didn’t go into anymore details which have seen the speculation and rumour mill kick into over drive about what Samsung will be showing to the world.

Nokia Has A Surprise For September 7th, The First Lumia Windows Phone 8 Smartphone?

The teasers for the upcoming Nokia products are already starting to hit the web the squares. This one is most likely centered on a new Nokia Lumia smartphone withWindows Phone 8 on board. What you are seeing in the picture above is a billboard saying that “Something amazing is coming on September 7th.”

The billboard was placed in front of a Nokia store in Helsinki and the news have rapidity made the headlines of the tech blogs.

Google Nexus 7 tablet available online in India, starting Rs. 16,952

Can’t wait for Google or Asus to launch the Nexus 7 tablet in India? Well you need wait no more. With the power of online shopping, consumers in India can pick up Google’s flagship tablet today.

The price you will pay has a slight premium of course. The device has launched in the US for $200 (Rs. 11,000 approx.). Users sitting in India can buy the 8GB Google Nexus 7 tablet from the Indiatimes online shopping website, for Rs. 16,952. The website also offers users an EMI facility divided in either 3 months or 6 month intervals. The 3-month installment will cost users Rs. 5,651 per month and the 6-month payment plan will cost users Rs. 2,825 per month. The Nexus 7 is currently in stock and will be delivered in 15 working days, shipping free. The device will come with one-year manufacturer warranty.

Sony introduces F800 series Walkman music players, powered by Android 4.0 ICS

Once upon a time the Portable Music Player (PMP) was associated with the word Walkman. In the past decade however, the title has been stolen by a little device called the iPod.

Trying to regain the title, Sony has announced four new Walkman models - the F800, S770BT, E570 and E470.

The top of the line of the new models, the F800 runs on Google’s Android 4.0 ICS OS. The device boasts of 3.5-inch display and it will have full access to the apps available on the Google Play store. The device also boasts of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and comes in 3 storage variants – 8GB, 16GB and 32GB. A good feature of the device is that it supports the FLAC lossless audio format.

Windows 8 will be available on…

…October 26^th, 2012! That’s right! Just a few minutes ago, Steven Sinofsky announced at Microsoft’s annual sales meeting that customers will be able to get Windows 8 – whether in upgrade fashion or on a new PC – starting on October 26^th. Earlier this month at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, Tami Reller told attendees Windows 8 would be available in October. But now everyone has a specific date to mark on their calendars. It’s on mine!

 

Samsung Nexus S Android Jelly Bean update tomorrow (19th)

There have been a number of reports recently about if and when once flagship smartphones would be getting updated to Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and this comes as the platform gears up for the next version becoming available. Today we have news of the Samsung Nexus S Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update that is coming tomorrow the 19th of July.

When Google first revealed the new upcoming operating system they also announced that certain devices will be receiving the update around the middle of this month, and now according to a report on the Android Authority owners of the aging Nexus S on Vodafone in Australia will be getting the update tomorrow.

Spike physical keyboard case for iPhone 5

We have often debated on Phones Review the pros and cons of a physical keyboard on a smartphone, and the trouble is the widest range of such handsets available are on the BlackBerry platform which many consumers are now ignoring in favour of Android and the iPhone. Today we have news of the Spike physical keyboard case that will be available for the iPhone 5 once it is released.

As the guys over at iPhone Rumors are suggesting many iPhone owners would never think of placing a physical keyboard on their smartphone, but the team behind the Spike iPhone casethink differently. The Spike iPhone case is another neat gadget that is on the Kickstarter project, and while the late Steve Jobs was never a fan of physical keyboards, a number of third party manufacturers have came up with accessories to offer iPhone fans an option of one.

AccuWeather forecast app for Android and iPhone

We always like to pass on details about top apps to our readers whether they are for entertainment or practical purposes. Today we want to tell you about the extremely highly rated AccuWeather forecast app, which is available for Android and iPhone and it’s also a free app so you might want to check it out.
The AccuWeather app is available from Google Play and the App Store now and provides you with all your weather forecasting needs. Firstly we’ll give you details on the AccuWeather foriPhone app, which is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 4.0 or later and available fromiTunes here. The most recent update in July improved stability and fixed bugs on the app. There are tons of features on this app and in fact it took the Best iPhone App award at the Mobies 2012.

Swipe case for iPhone with integrated cleaning system

If you are anything like me, you are constantly wiping over your smartphone touch screen as soon as a mark appears, a dirty touch screen is something that simply gets right up my nose, but what if you could get a case that could clean your touch screen for you?

Well apparently a report by 9to5 Mac has it that if you are the proud owner of an iPhone, that screen cleaning pain might soon become a thing of the past for the iOS smartphone user anyway, as there is a Kickstarter project under way for the Swipe iPhone case.

Sony Xperia Neo L up for pre-order in India for Rs. 18499

Sony Xperia Neo L successor of the Xperia Neo V, that was announced in China earlier this March is now on pre-order in India from online retailer Flipkart. It has 4-inch (480 x 854) TFT display and is powered by 1 GHz single-core processor, Adreno 205 GPU. It runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and has 5MP auto focus camera with LED flash and 720p video recording and VGA front-facing video calling camera. 

It is 12.2 mm thick and weighs 131.5 grams. It has 512MB RAM, 1 GB internal memory (up to 300 MB user free memory) and expandable memory up to 32 GB with microSD.

The connectivity features include, 3G (HSPA (download): up to 7.2 Mbps, HSPA (upload) up to 5.76 Mbps), Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, aGPS. It has 1500 mAh battery.

The Sony Xperia Neo L now available for pre-order from online retailer Flipkart for Rs. 18499. It is expected to ship in 4th week of July.

Nokia patents flexible hinge for foldable tablets

Nokia has been working on foldable electronics for a while now and has previously demonstrated the Nokia Kinect concept. The Kinect concept is a phone with a bendable screen which responds to both touch and twists.
Nokia’s patent has proposed using multilayered strips of elastomers and composite fabrics. While the first layer could possibly be made of a thermoplastic or thermoset material acting as a sturdy spring and the second layer could either be kevlar or cordura fabric. We really don’t expect to see this as an actual product any time soon but we never expected a 41MP cameraphone either ! We’ll keep our eye out for more information and in the meanwhile you can check out the Nokia Kinect concept video below.

Nokia Asha 305 Dual SIM phone now available in India for Rs. 4668

Nokia Asha 305 Dual SIM phone is now available in India from Nokia Store . It has 3.0-inch (240 x 400 pixels) resistive touch display, 2MP camera with 4x digital zoom and runs on Nokia Asha (S40) OS with Swipe Interface. It has Easy Swap Dual SIM support, which lets you swap SIM cards opening the device or turning the phone off and supports up to 32GB Micro SD memory card. It is 12.8mm thick and weighs 98.3g.

It comes with pre-loaded Facebook and twitter social apps and 40 Free EA games such as Tetris, Bejeweled, Need for Speed The Run and Fifa 2012.

Other features include, Music Player and, FM Radio, GPRS/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, Micro USB 2.0 with USB charging, 3.5 mm audio jack and 1110 mAh battery with up to 14h talk time and up to 528h standby.

The Nokia Asha 305 Dual SIM phone is now available from Nokia Store for Rs. 4668.

Micromax Bling X44 Dual SIM phone launched for Rs. 3000

Micromax has launched Bling X44, their new phone in the Bling series. It is encrusted with Swarovski Zirconia crystals and has 2.2-inch display, Alpha numeric keypad, 2MP camera and expandable up to 8 GB. It is a Dual SIM phone with Dual Standby.

Micromax Bling X44 specifications

• 2.2-inch QVGA display
• Dual SIM
• 2MP camera
• FM Radio with recording
• Audio Player (Mp3, Midi, WAV), Video Player (3GP, MP4)
• Expandable memory up to 8 GB
• Wap/ MMS
• 950 mAh battery with up to 8 Hours talk time and up to 248 Hours

The Micromax Bling X44 is priced at Rs. 3000 and is available across India.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Complete Changelog released

Google has finally posted complete changelog for the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Google released the Jelly Bean at Google I/O with lot of new features including Google Now that display different cards on the notification screen based on your search results. They released the changelog for Ice Cream Sandwichlast November.

Features of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

• Project Butter makes Calendar, People App, Dial pad and Chrome browser faster
• Better notifications for Calender events, data usage, SMS and MMS and Gmail
• Swipe from the camera viewfinder to quickly review photos, pinch to zoom out to view images in filmstrip mode
• Gesture Mode for blind users to reliably navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures with speech output
• Android Beam lets you share content with two NFC-enabled devices and pair your phone or tabletto Bluetooth devices such as speakers
• HTML5 video support, updated HTML5 Media Capture specification on input element for browser
• Better Face Unlock which is now faster and with calibration, blink to detect
• Bidirectional text for languages Arabic and Hebrew scripts and 18 new input languages
• Better Keyboard with accurate dictionaries, prediction, correction and more input styles.
• Google Search with Knowledge Graph offers better results and Faster Voice search
• Google Now display different cards (Weather, Traffic, Currency and more) on the notification screen based
• Google Maps now has offline mode, Compass Mode for indoor views and indoor walking directions (select countries)
• Google Play now recommends apps and has Smart App Updates to save bandwidth
• Download Movies and TV shows from Google Play (for select countries)

You can read the entire changelog of Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) from Android.com

Dolly for iPhone brings stability to your video capture

Most with an iPhone or other smartphone would like to take more professional videos on their smartphone so their movies aren’t shaky, and now there is an accessory available that can bring a steady hand to your video capture whether you use an iPhone or other smartphone.

According to the guys over at Ubergizmo this is where the iStabilizer Dolly comes into its own. The iStabilizer Dolly uses a clever implementation of the company’s universal mount, and as a result can transform shaky videos, time-lapse, blog posts and such into smooth works of art.

HTC Desire HD & others getting Android ICS

There have been many HTC owners left confused over what devices will be getting the Android ICS update, one of the popular handsets many would like to know if it will receive the update is the HTC Desire HD.

The Facebook message starts off with “Thank you for contacting our Customer Support Center with regards to your inquiry”; this was to answer someone’s question regarding the update. It says that the devices getting the ICS update later this year will include the HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Rezound, HTC Design 4G, HTC Desire S, HTC Rhyme, HTC 4G+, HTC Incredible S, HTC Vivid, HTC Raider 4G, and the HTC Desire HD, the Desire HD can expects its upgrade between July and August.

HTC also goes on to let customers know that they want you to stay tuned for more updates on upgrades on devices about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich. Users of the above Android phones will be notified when the upgrade is available, to check for updates please do the following: Menu -> settings -> about phone -> system software updates -> check.

Please let me know what Android device you have and if you are waiting for the Android ICS update.

Garnet Red Samsung Galaxy S III exclusively coming to AT&T, pre-order starts on July 15

AT&T has announced that the Samsung Galaxy S III would be available exclusively in Garnet Red color by this month as they promised. It has similar features as the White and Blue version including, 4.8-inch (1280×720 pixels) HD Super AMOLED display and is powered by Snapdragon S4  1.5 GHz Dual Core processor.

It runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and has 8MP Rear-facing camera and 1.9MP Front-facing camera. It comes with 16 GB internal memory and has expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD and 2100 mAh battery.

Customers can pre-order Garnet Red Samsung Galaxy S III starting this Sunday, July 15 from att.com/galaxysiii or from AT&T company-owned retail store. It will go on sale from AT&T company-owned retail store starting July 29.