Saturday 27 August 2011

Verizon HTC Thunderbolt Becomes Close To Free At Amazon


The HTC-made Verizon Thunderbolt is getting cheaper and cheaper over at Amazon. After recently going for $49.99 with a two-year commitment over at the retailer, the phone will now cost close to nothing.

One cent is all you have to pay, in addition to signing a two-year contract with Verizon, to get your own Thunderbolt. It features 4G LTE with simultaneous voice and data, a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 768MB RAM, 8GB of ROM, eight-megapixel camera with dual LED flash and a front facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat. The phone couldn't get any cheaper while we wait for the HTC Vigor to maybe take its place

Slacker Radio For Windows Phone



Ever since the Windows Phone Marketplace has been accepting Mango-compatible application submissions earlier this week, software makers are updating their apps to take advantage of the cool features the Windows Phone platform refresh brings. Slacker Radio is one of those apps that just got updated.

If you're on T-Mobile and have a Windows Phone that's running Mango (either beta or RTM), you can grab the application and check out all the Mango goodness. You have fast app switching, background audio streaming, instant resume and the ability to control music playback from the OS volume control ticker at the top of the screen. Check out a video demo below: 



Samsung Criticize Some More American Galaxy S II


We knew Samsung was preparing to show off itsAmerican Galaxy S II line-up on August 29 (an event which might be postponed though due to Irene) and there also was a teaser video onlineshowing the phone to the U.S.

To further tease and build/maintain the buzz around the phone, Samsung Mobile USA has published another teaser video, showing off one of the unique features of the phone's email client. You can have a desktop-like e-mail experience on your Galaxy S II if you turn it to the side. This way you'll get a list of your messages on the left with the actual message being displayed on the right.


BLACKBERRY CURVE 9360 IN PINK AND WHITE COLOUR



Research in Motion has recently announced its next-generation BlackBerry Curve 9350 and 9360/9370 variants with an August availability date for Canada. It looks like carrier Telus will soon feature the pink and white version of the phone.

After releasing the Curve 9360 yesterday -- black version -- Telus is preparing to add two more color variants to the table: white and pink. In addition to the images above, there's no other information related to availability. Price-wise we guess it will bear the same $49.99 tag given you sign a three-year contract with the carrier.

HRC HOLIDAY PICTURES LEAKED | HTC HOLIDAY LATEST GADGET | HTC LATEST PRODUCT



We first heard of the HTC Holiday when we first saw the renders of the phone initially believed to be an AT&T exclusive. Later on the Holiday was tipped for a global release and then a prototype popped-up on Craigslist.

The image above appears to be the first in-the-wild picture of the HTC Holiday. Just as we heard back in May, the Holiday will indeed sport a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.5-inch qHD display, eight-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 1.3 megapixel front-facer, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread on-board, with HTC Sense 3.0 on top of it. Additionally, the Holiday is rumored to be the first phone AT&T is planning to launch in its LTE market





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SONY XPERIA ANDROID 2.3.4



Friday 26 August 2011

New Windows Phone Devices, Software Builds, Show Up In App Logs



Apps that log what makes and models of smartphones run them have become an invaluable source of information on unreleased smartphones. Some of that hardware will be development gear never supposed to see the light of day, but other models put in an appearance before their eventual retail debut. Plenty of upcoming Mango Windows Phone devices have been showing up in the records of the WP7 apps WP Bench and I'm a WP7, including some we're not yet familiar with.

Both apps have been recording encounters with an LG smartphone only known as model LS831. We're expecting new Windows Phone hardware from LG, like the LG Fantasy we got a look at last month, but haven't been able to pin this model number to a device name.

We've heard about the HTC Omega before (along with the Eternity), but now WP Bench is coming up with a model number for the smartphone, C110e. HTC has a new name here we haven't heard in a while, the HTC Radiant. It first came to our attention back in April when the company trademarked the name. There are also some really unknowns on that list, like a Nokia that's not the SeaRay showing up just as the Nokia XXX; either the company's doing a good job keeping a lid on it, or it just doesn't have a name yet.

These records are also proving useful for getting a glimpse of in-development Windows Phone builds. These post-Mango versions are presumably part of the work being done for the Tango follow-up update. Both 8004 and 8310 are mentioned, 8310 being the most recent build we've yet seen. 

Nokia N9 Spotted In Two New Colors


We were just pondering over the lack of color options with so many of today's smartphones, with the reveal of a new white version of the HTC EVO 3D. Such a discussion would largely fall on deaf ears over at Nokia, where the manufacturer has a knack for coming out with a nice selection of vibrant handsets. After all, this is a company that puts out phones clad with actual gold plating. It was no surprise, then, that when the N9 was announced, Nokia revealed that you'd be able to score the phone in either black, cyan, or magenta. Now it looks like that list is just the beginning when it comes to N9 color options.

From the looks of the screenshot above, the N9 will also be available in orange and green case variants. Since we haven't heard of these options before, it's possible that they might be restricted to one particular region where the phone is launched, but we could just as easily see these two new shades offered wherever the phone is available. This also opens the door for even more color options that we haven't yet discovered, so we'll be keeping our eyes open.

We had been expecting the MeeGo-running N9 to launch sometime around September 23, but the countdown clock that provided that date has since been taken offline, leaving us guess as to when retail sales of the phone will finally kick-off.

Sprint Motorola Photon 4G


The "weapon of choice", as Sprint would have us believe, is the newest to their mobile lineup - the Motorola Photon 4G. With beveled corners encasing its Tegra 1Ghz dual-core processor, this phone certainly feels good in the hand. Motorola's first 4G device on Sprint looks to be a solid contender, but will it be able to win the battle of the consumers?

The Motorola Photon 4G is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract.




Mango May Add WiFi Hotspot Connection Sharing


Ever since first hearing about all the new features and capabilities coming to Windows Phone with the release of Mango, we've been talking about our wish list for the things we'd really like to see included. Eventually, we got confirmation for many of Mango's new abilities, but there were some on our list that we were starting to think just weren't going to make it. Now, with Mango nearly upon us, a tipster has revealed a feature that's been hidden so far, the inclusion of Internet Sharing.

A pic shows the feature being set up on the Samsung Focus, running what we're told is Mango 7720.68. The fact that we haven't heard of this before suggests that it likely won't be a widely-deployed Mango ability, and it could be up to the manufacturer or carrier whether or not the hotspot mode is user-accessible.

While it supposedly works without issue, hosting a hotspot is reportedly a huge battery drain. We don't know that the tipster means it's any worse than you'd see on an Android smartphone, but that could also be a clue as to why we haven't seen it before; Microsoft could have deemed the feature unusable due to power consumption issues.

BlackBerry Torch 9850





While Sprint embraced the formal announcement of some of RIM's latest BlackBerry models by committing to carry both the Torch 9850 and Bold 9930, only the Bold 9930 has been associated with Verizon. Would it show interest in the Torch as well? A new poster apparently spotted in a Verizon store answers that with a strong affirmative, showing the new Torch among other smartphones carried by Verizon.

Unfortunately, there's no useful text on the poster, so all it really does is serve as unofficial confirmation that the carrier will be offering the Torch 9850 at some point. We're still in the dark as to when it might launch the handset, or what it's thinking of charging, but we can make a few assumptions based on Sprint's handling of the phone.

Sprint started selling the Torch on August 21, for $150 on-contract after rebates. Verizon's Bold 9930 pricing lined-up with Sprint's so there's no reason to think its plans for Torch 9850 pricing would be far off. If the Sprint 9850 launch was still in the future, we might expect Verizon's to be around the same time, but since it just happened a few days ago, it's harder to guess when Verizon might follow. Frankly, it could be any day now, and Verizon is clearly getting its retail stores ready for the phone's arrival.

Fujitsu IS12T | World's First WP7 Mango


Microsoft, Fujitsu and KDDI have today officially launched the Fujitsu-Toshiba IS12T as the world's first phone running Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 with the Mango refresh. The phone was announced on July 27 and today, almost a month later, the IS12T has been officially launched.

The event took place in front of Akihabara’s Yodobashi Camera store but despite it being an official event, and a very important one at that, Akihabara News reports that there was little interest. Out of the total number of people attending, 80% were journalists and the rest probably Microsoft, KDDI, Fujitsu and Yodobashi Camera Center employees.

The Fujitsu IS12T is the first phone to see the market running Windows Phone Mango, the platform refresh Redmond hopes will be able to close the gap and catch up to Android and iOS. The device is equipped with a Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU, 32GB of internal memory, 3.7-inch WVGA screen, 13.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi b/g/n and sensors. 

Sony Ericsson Announces Xperia Neo V, Android 2.3.4 Xperia


Sony Ericsson today announced that it will start rolling-out Google Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread updates for all of its 2011 Xperia models. The process will start this October and will include the new OS, Google Talk with Video Chat, updated Facebook inside Xperia, USB peripheral support, Swipe text input and screenshot capability.

On the same note, the manufacturer announced the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V, available from the fourth quarter of the year. The phone will ship with the new update, Android 2.3.4, out-of-the box and will share the specs of the Xperia Neo launched earlier this year.

The Neo V features a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 processor, five-megapixel camera with auto-focus, face detection, LED flash and 3D sweep panorama, 720p video recording capability, a VGA front-facer, 3.7-inch FWVGA display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine, up to 320MB of memory, 2GB microSD card included (and support 

for up to 32GB), as well as a 1500 mAh battery. The phone will be available in white, blue gradient and silver. 





LG Optimus 3D Launched In India For Rs.37,000



LG Optimus 3D and HTC EVO 3D are the only Android powered 3D smartphones currently available on the earth. LG Optimus 3D is the first smartphone, featuring a glasses free touchscreen display and a dual rear camera for 3D video recording. This handset was announced and showcased at the CES 2011 in Las Vegas. The folks living in India has a reason to cheer, since the much-awaited 3D smartphone, the LG Optimus 3D is finally available for purchase in India.
LG Optimus 3D is the first 3D smartphone launched in India. It runs on the old Android 2.2 (Froyo)Operating System, but the manufacturer has already promised to roll out the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update, later this year. This handset is capable of recording 3D videos in HD (720p) and full HD (1080p) videos in 2D, thanks to the 5 megapixel dual-lens camera
“The LG Optimus 3D is super-smartphone which gives our consumer the pleasure of 3D without the special glasses. Its exceptional features combined with super computing capabilities will add a new dimension to the smartphone experience. The smart consumers will now have the power to create, view & share real-life 3D content and the power to explore the world of unlimited possibilities.”
LG Optimus 3D comes with a 4.3 inch 3D WVGA display with 480 x 800 pixels resolution, 1 GHz Dual-Core and Dual-Channel TI OMAP4 processor, Android 2.2 OS (upgradeable to Android 2.3), Glasses-free 3D viewing, 5 megapixel dual-lens camera, 1080p video recording and playback in 2D, 720p video recording and playback in 3D, Wi-Fi, 3G Connectivity, HDMI 1.4, DLNA connectivity, 3.5mm headset jack, 4 GB LP DDR2, 8 GB memory, 32GB expandable memory and a 1500 mAh battery.
This handset comes with a price tag of Rs.37,000. Will you buy the LG Optimus 3D or you will go for the HTC Sensation or Samsung Galaxy S II, which is currently available for just Rs.30,000. Let us know your views in the comments below.

Nokia 600 Announced; Is The Loudest Smartphone To Date

Along with the Nokia 700 and the 701, Nokia also announced a third phone, the Nokia 600. The Nokia 600 is an all-in-one entertainment hub, and has the dubious honor of being the loudest smartphone to date





The Nokia 600 packs a 3.2-inch display with nHD (360×640) resolution. Like the 700 and 701, the Nokia 600 is also powered by a 1GHz processor and packs 256MB RAM along with 2GB of internal memory. The other key features of the Nokia 600 include a pentaband radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio, N FC and a microSD card slot.
The back of the handset sports a 5MP camera with an LED flash. The 600 is also capable of recording videos in 720p HD resolution. Beside the super loud speaker, the 600 also comes with an FM transmitter. The FM radio also has an internal antenna, so users can listen to FM radio without plugging in any headset.
The Nokia 600 will be available in a variety of colors including black, white, pink and lime. Like the other Belle powered handsets announced by Nokia today, the 600 would also be available sometime in Q3 of this year. The handset will set you back by EUR180, excluding taxes and subsidies.

Motorola Droid 3 Successfully Out





Some Android smartphones see procedures for obtaining root released within hours of the device's retail availability, while others stubbornly resist giving up their superuser permissions. TheMotorola Droid 3 has been out for over a month now, and so far has been falling into the latter category. That's all changing now, though, with the release of a relatively simple technique for rooting the phone. 


The exploit relies on how the Droid 3 sets up some directory permissions. By replacing one of those with a symbolic link to a higher-level directory, we can trick the phone into making that higher-level directory inherit the writable permissions of the subdirectory. Using ADB, you can issue the commands to pull off this directory sleight-of-hand, as well as make the needed modifications to the /data/local.prop file.


Users on the XDA-Developer forum have confirmed success in using the method to root their Droid 3s. Once you get root, there's still some housekeeping you'll want to tend to, like installing su, but it all looks quite easy to pull off. If you've got ADB installed and want to give it a shot on your own Droid 3





Motorola Announces The Android Powered Motorola Fire In The UK


Earlier this month, Motorola unveiled the entry-level Motorola Fire smartphone. This handset runs on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) Operating System and it comes with a 2.8 inch touchscreen display as well as a four-row QWERTY keyboard. Motorola Fire offers up to 8 hours of talk time and up to 30 days of standby time in 3G mode. Motorola recently announced the availability of this smartphone in the UK.
“We are excited about extending our growing smartphone range in UK, and Motorola FIRE opens up new possibilities in the smartphone market. The device’s stylish design and its exciting and versatile social media applications will wow younger, tech-loving users in particular,” said Victoria McManus, UK marketing director, Motorola Mobility EMEA.



  • 2.8 QVGA touchscreen display
  • Full QWERTY keyboard
  • Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS
  • Moto Switch user interface
  • 3 megapixel camera
  • MicroSD card slot
  • 32 GB expandable memory
  • 3.5mm audio jack
  • FM radio with RDS
  • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
  • 3G Connectivity
  • E-compass
  • Proximity sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Android Market
  • GPS with A-GPS
  • LED notifications
  • Up to 8 hours of talk time
  • Up to 30 days of standby time
  • 1420 mAh battery
Motorola Fire will be available in 2 colors – Black and White. This handset allows you to access more than 250,000 apps from the Android Market. Motorola Fire will be available for the purchase in the UK, from the end of September. The price of this handset has not been announced yet.

Another LG Emerges as an In-Development Windows Phone


Yesterday, we got a look at a bunch of cryptic device names and model IDs of what may be arriving as future Windows Phone devices, as well as evidence of a new OS build we hadn't come across before. This data was all courtesy of developers who have been collecting statistic on what smartphones run their software and connect back to their servers. This isn't the first time developers have been able to perform this role, and certainly won't be the last. We took a look at some phones revealed by Occasional Gamer earlier this year, and now the site has one more model to add to yesterday's group.

There's only a single instance of this model playing the developer's games, but that's all we need to learn of the existence of LG's LG-T130L. Presumably, this will be a Mango device (if not Tango), and will join the other new Windows Phonehardware LG is working on. We heard about the LG-S831 yesterday; either of these models might refer to the LG Fantasy, or they could all be distinct devices. Sadly, these logs may tip us off to new phones, but they're really not much for fleshing-out our understanding of any in the absence of any specs or additional detail. We'll just have to keep watching and see if the LG-T130L pops up again. 

Planet Completely Made Up of Diamond

Diamonds are turning out to be more ubiquitous than thought. After we reported that candles burn up diamonds a few days back, we hear of a discovery of a planet, which is completely made up of real diamond. This diamond planet is important in astrophysics, though for a very different reason!





The discovery is too recent for any deep scientific investigation. Astrophysicists think that the planet is actually the core of a star, which died and became a white dwarf. The difference with other white dwarfs in the Universe is that this was orbiting a neutron star.

Lifetime and Death of a Star

A star burns hydrogen, converting it into helium, during its lifetime, known as the main sequence of the star. Once, it runs out of hydrogen it begins to contract, until enough heat builds up to trigger a newer set of reactions, which involves fusing helium to form heavier elements. Once the helium is also snuffed out, the star contracts again. Now, depending on the mass of the star, there might be many such contraction-fusion phases, making higher and higher elements. A mass the size of the Sun will stop somewhere at oxygen and then just settle down, cooling off and becoming a white dwarf. A star with a mass of 1.4 times that of the Sun becomes a neutron star, basically an extremely compact object made up of neutrons. Above 3 solar masses, you get a black hole.

The giant gem!

This new planet is five times the size of Earth with a super-high surface pressure. The extremely high surface pressure leads scientists to suspect that the entire planet has been crystallized into diamond. The planet orbits a rapidly pulsating neutron star that radiates – a pulsar. Named PSR J1719-1438, the pulsar has a rotation rate of 10000 rotations per minute! It is located at a distance of 4000 light years from Earth!

All that sparkles… also pulsates

This system is not only interesting for being the biggest piece of diamond known! This is only the second time such a system, i.e. one which involves white dwarf orbiting a pulsar, has been discovered. The planet is also larger than the ‘star’, as generally white dwarfs are bigger than neutron stars in size.
So there is another piece of diamond that you’ll never get your hands on! Thank your pulsars that no one else is getting it either!

BLACKBERRY CURVE 9350 AT $79.99

Earlier this week, BlackBerry announced the new BlackBerry Curve 9350 smartphone, under the popular BlackBerry Curve series. BlackBerry Curve 9350 is a CDMA smartphone, powered by the BlackBerry 7 Operating System. It comes with a 2.44 inch HVGA+ touchscreen display, 800 MHz processor, 5 megapixel camera and more. This handset will be exclusively available to the Sprint customers in the US.


“It is exciting to see the BlackBerry Curve line continue to evolve, building upon past success,” said David Owens, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “This latest iteration offers the recognizable form factor our customers have come to enjoy, while adding powerful new features and innovative apps of BlackBerry 7 to deliver the smoothest and fastest BlackBerry Curve experience to date.”

BlackBerry Curve 9350 features a 2.44 inch HVGA+ display, sporting a resolution of 480 x 360 pixel resolution, 800 MHz Qualcomm 8655 processor, BlackBerry 7 Operating System, Full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with flash, Image stabilization, Face detection, Digital zoom, Geo-tagging, VGA video recording and much more.
Other features include a 3.5 mm headset jack, integrated GPS with A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR support, NFC (Near Field Communications), MicroSD card slot, 512 MB RAM, 32 GB expandable memory, 2 GB MicroSD card bundled, BlackBerry App World, BlackBerryPlayBook support with BlackBerry Bridge, up to 9 hours of video playback time, up to 45 hours of music playback time, up to 14.5 days of standby time, up to 5.5 hours of talk-time and a 1040 mAh Lithium-ion battery.
BlackBerry Curve 9350 will be available for purchase, starting from Friday, September 9. You can get this smartphone for just $79.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate. BlackBerry Curve 9350 also requires activation on one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans and a required $10 Premium Data add-on charge for smartphones.

Sony Ericsson’s 2011 Range of Xperia Devices To Get Android 2.3.4 Update in October

Along with the Sony Ericsson Neo V, the company also announced that the 2011 range of Xperiahandsets will be getting a new firmware update, sometime in October this year.





Xperia handsets users with a front-facing cam will also get to enjoy Google Talk with video chat functionality. The Facebook inside Xperia feature will also be enhanced with this update, by providing users ability to share apps and games through Facebook.
There is also a new 3D Sweep panorama feature, which will allow users to watch images in 3D by connecting the phone to a 3D TV using the HDMI output.
Below is the whole change-log of the update-:
  • Xperia™ smartphones to be upgraded to the 2.3.4 version of the Gingerbread platform with new features including Google Talk with Video Chat for smartphones with front-facing cameras
  • Updated Facebook inside Xperia™ functionality for enhanced like, share and discover abilities
  • Xperia™ smartphones introducing world’s first 3D sweep panorama functionality powered by Sony.
  • The software upgrade enables consumers to turn their Xperia smartphone into a mini-mobile PC by connecting USB peripherals (mouse, keyboard or game controller) to Sony Ericsson LiveDock™ multimedia station. Connect the smartphone to a TV via HDMI to get a big screen experience.
  • Swipe text input -  text input by swiping the finger from one letter to the next
  • Screen capture – allows the user to share a screen grab from anywhere in the phone.
The last firmware update for all the Xperia handsets also brought a host of new features, including xLoud and themes support. It looks like Sony Ericsson has finally learnt from its previous mistake, and knows that timely software updates also play a major role in a handset’s success.

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