HTC One X gets Android 4.0.4 with Sense 4.1 OTA update

The international version of the HTC One X is getting an over-the-air update bringing it to Android 4.0.4 and updating its Sense UI to 4.1.

In addition, the update also optimizes the performance of the stock web browser and enhanced the image quality of the camera. Sense UI 4.1 itself brings smoother homescreen animations and an updated notification bar. The latter now features the old "Quick Settings" tab from Sense 3.0.

The OTA rollout has started in Germany, as you can see from the screenshots and the update is 148MB in size, so make sure you use a Wi-Fi network to download it.

Source | Via

Motorola RAZR XT910 Android 4.0 roll-out begins today

It's been a long wait but the Android 4.0 update is finally ready to hit the international Motorola RAZR XT910. We have information that the roll-out for the update will begin today and if you have this handset you should stop reading and check if the update is available for download on your phone.

Apparently, the hold-up was due to T-Mobile refused to sign-off on the update because they wanted to customize the ROM on the phone to their liking, something that Google did not allow as Motorola is now owned by Google. Eventually T-Mobile relented and signed the update so now everyone can get their hands on it.

If you receive this update on your RAZR, do let us know how it's working in the comments below.

Sony Xperia LT25i 'Tsubasa' uncovered in benchmark results

A small Xperia army seems to be assembling in secrecy - clues of yet another droid appeared in NenaMark and AnTuTu benchmark results. It's called the Sony Xperia LT25i 'Tsubasa'.

It's an Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich device, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with a dual-core Krait processor at 1.5GHz and Adreno 225 GPU. The screen on the 'Tsubasa' has 720p resolution and the phone will use on-screen Android buttons (the reported resolution of 1196 x 720 gives that away).

NenaMark 2 and AnTuTu benchmark results for the Sony Xperia LT25i Tsubasa

The LT25i is the international version of the Sony Xperia Tsubasa and will likely have LTE connectivity. There seem to be a few more versions - LT25h (HSPA+), LT25c (for China), SO-01E and SOL21 (for Japan's NTT DoCoMo and KDDI respectively).

There's a number of Xperia phones yet to be announced, even a tablet, so we can't wait for its pre-IFA press conference to start (Sony will be presenting its stuff on August 29).

Source 1 Source 2 (in Chinese)

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Xperia T hands-on photos emerge, show all its angles

The Sony LT30i Mint, or the Xperia T, as its DLNA certification suggests, has once again escaped the Sony R&D center and posed in front of a camera.

The 35 new photos, courtesy of nixanbal.com, show the Xperia T from all angles and even demonstrates what the 4.3" droid looks like in hand. Here are the most interesting parts of the photo session.

The Xperia T is powered by a dual-core Snapdragon S4 (Krait) processor and features 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. At the back, it features a 13MP camera with LED flash and an NFC chip.

Sony will officially announce the Xperia T at an pre-IFA event on August 29, where it's expected to unveil a number of smartphones including the Xperia J, Xperia SL and the LT29i Hayabusa.

You can check the whole Xperia T hands-on photo tour in the source link below.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to sport an ultra-thin, flexible AMOLED

Thus far, Samsung has successfully managed to keep the Galaxy Note 2 in the shadows and the only thing close to certain is its 5.5-inch AMOLED display.

KoreaTimes just came to back this claim and even went on to suggest the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will utilize a 5.5-inch flexible AMOLED display. It's highly unlikely for the whole phone to be bendable, rather it suggests that the Note 2 will have a slight curve of some sort.

The AMOLED in question uses a Unbreakable Plane (UBP) and plastic substrate helping it reduce its thickness by 0.4mm. This may not sound like much, but on a 5.5" screen, the space saved is enough for Samsung to employ a far larger battery without making the Note 2 any thicker than its predecessor.

Samsung's Unpacked event on August 29, where the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 2, is fast approaching. And if KoreaTimes's info turns out to be true, the Note 2 will make quite a stir at the IFA expo in Berlin.

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iOS 6 supports taller displays, maybe even 9-pin connectors

The rumor mill is overflowing with talk of a bigger screen on the next iPhone, a screen with a wider aspect ratio. There's also a lot of chatter about a new connector, potentially with fewer pins. An important question was often overlooked though - does iOS actually support these things?

9to5Mac dug into the iOS Simulator and nudged the resolution to 640 x 1136, the rumored resolution of the iPhone 5 (which, if the screen is 4" as rumored, will keep the pixel density close to the current values and move to a 16:9 aspect ratio).

The Simulator for iOS 6 adjusted by display five rows of icons on the screen, instead of the usual four rows. This is a new feature too, as iOS 5.1 displays only four rows at the same resolution resolution (it just adds blank bars).

Here's how (simulated) iOS 6 and iOS 5.1 handle the 640 x 1136 resolution

It's even more telling that the iOS 6 Simulator doesn't handle other resolutions that well, adopting an iPad-like layout, instead of an iPhone one. This would suggest that the 640 x 1136 is treated specially - to accommodate the new iPhone perhaps? It's a shame they didn't try any apps to see how they handle the scaling.

Another interesting thing found while digging in the iOS 6 innards is a "9Pin". The reference is just a constant in a list of supported features, but it's easy to see how this might be about a 9-pin dock connector (instead of the current 30-pin connector). However, rumors usually point to a less drastic reduction in pin count - 19 pins.

Of course, both of these things can mean something completely different, be part of a prototype that never leaves Apple's labs or even just a misdirect. The only way to know for sure is to wait for the official Apple announcement, which will supposedly take place on September 12.

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Photos of alleged WP8 Nokia surface, seem pretty dubious

While the rumor mill is trying to pinpoint when the announcement of Nokia's upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices will be, now a couple of photos surfaced showing what one of the smartphones may look like.

The phone is clearly sticking to the Lumia design guidelines and size-wise seems to be close to the Lumia 900. Unlike the 900 however, the screen edges are beveled (like on the 800), the Nokia logo is to the right (and not centered), the phone is yellow (not available on the 900) and, of course, there's the brand new homescreen.

An alleged Nokia prototype running Windows Phone 8

There are a couple of red flags though. For one, Windows Phone 7.8 uses the same homescreen, so it's not a clear enough indication that we're seeing a WP8 device. Another one is the file names of the images uploaded on WPDang (the site that broke the news): "Lumia-900-prototype_1.jpg" and "Lumia-900-Fake-prototype_2.jpg". We don't know if the WPDong admins are the ones that named the files or if it's the user, Playberry, who first posted them.

We have our doubts these photos show an actual WP8 prototype by Nokia, but if the rumors are true we only have to wait until Nokia World to find out (it starts in a month)

Thanks for the tip, Fakhre!

Source (in Chinese) | Via

iOS 6 new beta is out, brings along some new features

Apple has just seeded a new beta version of its iOS platform to developers. The new release brings the usual batch of bug-fixes and performance tweaks, but also several cool new features.

We told you about the first of those earlier today - the preinstalled YouTube app is gone, to be possibly replaced by a separate app, which will be available from the AppStore later on. We now also learn that one of the most heavily advertised features of the iOS 6 has been improved as well.

We are talking the 3D Maps app, which has now gained support for several new regions. Those include Boston, Atlanta, Portland, Phoenix, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Houston and Dallas (US), as well as Toronto (Canada), Lyon (France) and Birmingham and Manchester (England).

Developers also unearthed a new Bluetooth Sharing sub-menu in the privacy settings of the iOS 6 beta 4. It allows apps to share data with other devices even when you're not using the apps and speculations are that it might be used for the Passbook app, which is Apple's response to the Google Wallet. The new entry might also suggest file sharing over Bluetooth, but knowing Apple's stance on the matter so far, it sounds unlikely.

Since we don't have an official changelog from Apple for the new release, this is about as much info on the new beta as we have. If some other important thing pops up, we'll make sure to keep you posted.

Source 1 | Source 2

AT&T US to launch Shared data plans come August 23rd

Owning a couple of mobile devices each of them in need of mobile data proves to be nerve-racking and overly expensive. As it happens, AT&T might allow you to put those times behind your back, as the carrier is the first to be launching shared data plans.

With data caps ranging from 1GB to 20GB, shared data plans are designed to unify your data usage under one plan, rather than having a different data subscription for every device you own. Each shared data plan requires you to sign up a smartphone, which will receive unlimited talk and text.

From there on, you can have up to 9 different devices (tablets, laptops, etc.) to share those prepaid megabytes - no need for tethering as long as your device is 3G enabled. The only nitpick is that there's an extra charge if one of those additional devices is a smartphone.

Undoubtedly, this will save you quite a hassle if you own several devices that you use interchangeably to log on to internet - such as a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop. AT&T has been kind enough to make a Mobile Share Planner tool to help you choose the best suitable plan (check source link). The carrier will launch the shared data plans on August 23.

Source | Via

Windows Phone 8 might make an appearance at Nokia World

According to Bloomberg, we'll be seeing some devices introduced at Nokia World that will run on Microsoft's recently-announced Windows Phone 8 platform.

If this is true, then we might see the announcement of new WP8 devices before the rumored press conference for the next iPhone on September 12. This may not be a good thing, however, as Nokia run the risk being overshadowed by Apple's highly anticipated announcement.

As for when we'll actually see the first WP8-powered devices on the market, Microsoft have remained tight-lipped (although there are rumors of a an October release date, to coincide with their scheduled release of the Windows 8 OS). Hopefully, if announcements for Windows Phone 8 devices are made during the Nokia World conference, we'll also learn when we can get our hands on one.

Source | Via

Samsung hints at Galaxy Note 10.1 launch with latest invite

While Samsung's August 15 media event has generally been assumed to be regarding the Galaxy Note 10.1, the latest media invite proves this beyond doubt.

The latest invite shows the outline of a tablet with a stylus slot on the side and the words "Meet the new way" written on the tablet. Unless Samsung has another tablet with stylus in the pipeline, this is definitely the Galaxy Note 10.1.

The event will be taking place in New York next week on Wednesday. Shortly after that, Samsung has another event planned for August 29, which we already know is for the next Galaxy Note.

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Samsung officially announces the Galaxy Note 10.1

After sending out a pretty obvious invite about its special event on August 15, Samsung has just officially announced the Galaxy Note 10.1.

This is the second appearance of the Galaxy Note 10.1 after it was returned to the R&D center for a specs update and now the tablet is as ready for action as it could be. It comes with Samsung's very own Exynos 4412 chipset with a quad-core 1.4GHz processor, Mali 400MP GPU and 2GB of RAM.

As its name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with 10.1" screen, which as usual for the company's slates is of the PLS TFT variety. It features a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, making for a pixel density of 149ppi.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 official photos

The Galaxy Note 10.1 comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all of which feature a stylus dubbed the S Pen. This time around though, the tablet offers a slot for the S Pen, instead of making you carry it separately.

Just like the original Galaxy Note, the 10.1 comes with some exclusive apps to take advantage of the stylus, including S Note, S Planner, Crayon physics, Adobe Photoshop Touch, and Polaris Office. There's also palm rejection support, so you won't hit any buttons by accident with your palm when drawing with the S Pen.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 comes with a 5MP main snapper with LED flash and a 1.9MP font-facing camera for video conferencing. There's also a microSD card slot, and on the 3G models - a SIM card slot, as well.

Samsung also released a rather lengthy introductory video of the Galaxy Note 10.1 Here it is.

Offered in silver and white, the Galaxy Note 10.1 will come in three connectivity options: a WiFi-only version, a WiFi-and-3G HSPA-Plus connectivity version at launch, and a WiFi-and-LTE version later this year. The tablet is available in Korea, Germany, the US and the UK. It'll gradually be rolled-out to other global markets some time this month. European pricing is set at 479 for the Wi-Fi only version and 599 for the 3G-enabled units.

You can check out our hands-on video and live photos of the updated Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 over here.

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The iPhone was born off the corner of a concept iPad's screen

The Apple/Samsung court battle is in its full swing and this week saw Apple's VPs Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall take the stand. Lots of intriguing information came out of their testimonies. To our greatest surprise not only was Apple already working on an iPad prototype when they went about conceiving the iPhone, but the first concept iPhone UI was born in the bottom corner of what was back then the iPad's prototype touchscreen.

Scott Forstall is Senior VP of iOS Software at Apple and he is one of the people responsible for the creation of all generations of iPhones, including the very first one.

In his testimony at the Apple vs. Samsung trial earlier this week, Forstall went on to explain how the first iPhone was born.

Reportedly, the engineers at Apple have been working on the iPad concept from as early as 2003 - that's fours years before the first iPhone was announced and seven years before the iPad itself was announced and released. Back then, they had set off to build "a beautiful tablet without a keyboard, without a hinge, where you have to fold it like a laptop."

In 2004, Apple's top brass was having a casual conversation about phones and it came out they all hated their phones. So, in Scott Forstall's words, that got them wondering...

"Could we use the technology we were doing with touch that we'd been prototyping for this tablet, and could we use that for a phone... So we took that tablet and took a small scrolling list... We built a small corner of it as a list of contacts.... You could tap on the contact, it would slide over and show you the information... It was just amazing. We realized that a touchscreen of the size that would fit in your pocket would be perfect for these phones."

Apple did not invent the touchscreen phone by all means. Windows Mobile phones had touchscreens way before that. LG even claims the title for the first feature phone with a capacitive touchscreen - the LG Prada, announced days after the first iPhone but released way before the iPhone made it to the market.

Yes, the iPhone was not the first touchscreen phone around but it surely revolutionized the industry, eventually leading to the demise of physical keys and keyboards. And the most amazing thing is that not only was it born off a prototype tablet, but it was the iPhone eco-system that paved the way for the iPad, which along with other tablets is now revolutionizing the personal computing as we know it.

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BLU announces the VIVO 4.3 dual-core, dual-SIM smartphone

Following the (large) footsteps of the Studio 5.3 Android smartphone BLU Products announced the VIVO 4.3. The Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone offers dual-core, dual-SIM functionality, to go with good looks and low price tag.

The BLU VIVO 4.3 features a dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU and MediaTek MT6577 chipset. The GPU is PowerVR SGX531. There's a gig of RAM and 4GB of built-in memory which can be further expanded via microSD card.

One of the most pleasant surprises in the BLU VIVO 4.3's spec sheet is the presence of a 4.3" Super AMOLED Plus display with WVGA resolution. An 8MP camera with 720p video recording, 1600mAh battery and customizable Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich complete the highlights of the device's spec sheet.

The BLU VIVO 4.3 will hit the shelves of major US retailers in September, priced at the sweet $249.99 without contract. Latin America and parts of Asia will soon follow.