The hottest Ice Cream Sandwich you will ever get: the complete guide to all the major new features of Android 4.0

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  • October 20, 2011 at 5:10 pm

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Google has advanced its mobile operating system by leaps and bounds in just three years and Android is finally maturing. The latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which was announced this week, brings a host of usability improvements, new features and a lot of polish.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is a major upgrade, particularly for mobile phones, as it also brings Android Honeycomb functionality to smartphones. ICS will run on both smartphones and tablets. If you are new to Android, you might want to check out our beginners’ guide on what is Android ICS.

The changes in ICS are numerous and it’s easy to get lost in the details. We’ve compiled all the major improvements and new features of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in a simple, compact list. Head over the break, for your large dose of piping-hot Ice Cream Sandwich goodness.
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You can now watch, again, the entire Android Ice Cream Sandwich and Galaxy Nexus event

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  • October 19, 2011 at 11:13 am

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Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Galaxy Nexus event

If you missed the Google and Samsung event, when was it streaming live, you can now watch the entire event below. The event covered most of the basics of what’s new in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and of course unveiled Samsung’s new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy Nexus.

If you are a fan of little green robots, you will find the video after the break.
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Motorola Droid RAZR announced, coming November to everyone around the globe, U.S. for $299 on Verizon (specifications, pictures)

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  • October 18, 2011 at 12:54 pm

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Motorola RAZR front and back

So no surprises here, we got what we expected. Motorola announced its latest flagship handset the Droid RAZR. It will be available in North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa starting November. Verizon will carry the phone under its Droid line in the U.S. for $299 under contract — the phone will be known as simply RAZR elsewhere in the world.

As rumored, the Motorola Droid RAZR flaunts a 4.3-inch 960×540 qHD Super AMOLED Gorilla glass display and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It’s an LTE 4G device on Verizon and HSPA elsewhere in the world. It’s wrapped in Kevlar no less, while the phone has received a special nanotech splash-guard coating, so it should be able to take a beating (and splashing) despite its super-thin profile. Motorola is claiming “world thinnest smartphone” at just 7.1mm. Other features include 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, Bluetooth 4.0 no less, GLONASS support on top of GPS, 1780mAh battery and it will weight 127g. Oh, it will run Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread on launch.

You can find the full specs and pictures after the break.

The RAZR can become friends with a bunch of accessories and docks, such as two lapdocks the 100 and 500 Pro, HD dock and wireless keyboard.
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Samsung Galaxy Nexus last minute leak reveals detailed specs

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  • October 18, 2011 at 7:45 am

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus on Japanese document

We’re only hours away from the official unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (or Nexus Prime) and we just go our most comprehensive spec list yet. The leaks come from a number of Asian websites and the source is supposed to be Japan’s NTT DoCoMo mobile operator. The phone is expected to be released on November 20th in Japan.

The leaked specs are the same to the ones we’ve already reported, though we are still a bit surprised of the choice for a Texas Instruments processor over Samsung’s homegrown Exynos. Head across the break for the full list of specs, and be sure to also check out our rumor roundup for the Galaxy Nexus, HTC Vigor (Rezound) and Motorola Droid RAZR (Spyder)
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The big boys of Android: Galaxy Nexus (Prime) vs. HTC Vigor (Rezound) vs. Motorola Droid RAZR (Spyder); what we know and specs

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  • October 17, 2011 at 5:28 pm

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Android flagship phones: Galaxy Nexus (Prime), Motorola Droid RAZR (Spyder) and HTC Vigor (Rezound)

Three of the major Android manufacturers are each getting geared-up to release their new flagship handsets, all are large-screened, feature-rich, LTE Android smartphones.

Motorola and Samsung have events scheduled for tomorrow and HTC’s official announcement shouldn’t be far off. In anticipation of the announcements, we though of doing a recap, for all of you Android fans out there who like to live on the high-end. Here is what we know so far, though take everything we mention with a grain of salt as they are based on leaks and rumors.
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Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound find their way on Verizon MAP with November release date

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  • October 15, 2011 at 5:06 am

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Verizon MAP listing the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound

Two hotly anticipated Android smartphones have found their way on a Verizon Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) table. This means two things, first a release date is getting near, and second, they will of course be carried by Verizon.

The first handset is the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (a.k.a. Nexus Prime), which we are expecting to be announced on October 19 (evening of October 18 in the U.S.). The second is the HTC Rezound (a.k.a. Vigor or DROID Incredible HD).
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The universal translator is one step closer, Google Translate for Android can now do speech-to-speech translations in 14 languages

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  • October 13, 2011 at 4:53 pm

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Star Trek universal translator - Google Translate

Although it can’t yet translate any alien languages (we’ll have to find some aliens first), Google Translate for Android can now do speech-to-speech translations in 14 languages. That’s right, you can talk to your Android phone, it works in the background and in turn speaks out the translation in the desired language.

The function, called Conversation Mode, had been available in English and Spanish and has now expanded to Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Russian and Turkish.

The technology is still in alpha, so performance can be sketchy; at least you can’t unintentionally start an intergalactic war, yet. The accuracy of the translations will improve as more people use the software and provide feedback.
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Google and Samsung Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich event on October 19 in Hong Kong

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  • October 13, 2011 at 3:08 pm

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Google and Samsung Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich event invite

The original event on October 11th was cancelled, which certainly created a lot of disappointment and anxiety to all those who can’t wait to get the official word on Google’s latest and greatest Android release, Android 4.0, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google and Samsung have just sent invites to a joint event to take place in Hong Kong on October 19 (October 18 in the US).

As with all previous big Android releases, we’re expecting a new Nexus device to be the first to carry the new operating system, and well, Samsung is the lucky manufacturer this time around. The Nexus Prime (or Galaxy Nexus) is expected to be a killer device, with a 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display sporting an HD 1280×720 resolution.

You can get a good look of both the Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich right here.

On the launch day, you will be able to get a taste of Ice Cream Sandwich directly from Google as the event will be streaming live at youtube.com/android. The event starts at 10am HKT, 3am London time on the 19th, and 10pm on the 18th EST.

When a smartphone becomes art: the making of the HTC EVO 3D mural (video)

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  • October 13, 2011 at 12:54 pm

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HTC EVO 3D mural

HTC decided to take a more original approach in promoting the EVO 3D in Poland. The smartphone company commissioned a huge ‘promotional’ graffiti on a wall in the capital Warsaw.

Curious onlookers watched as the mural of an EVO 3D with buildings popping out of the screen — to remind us of its 3D abilities — slowly took shape. What can we say, great looking phone, and great looking street art. Definitely a 10 for HTC on creativity.

HTC EVO 3D mural video

The video of the full escapade is after the break.
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Motorola ATRIX 2 announced, gets a bigger screen, to be released Oct 16 on AT&T

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  • October 12, 2011 at 7:24 am

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Motorola ATRIX 2

Why mess with a good thing, that’s what Motorola must have though when it was designing the ATRIX 2. The update to the ATRIX Android handset maintains the same recipe as its predecessor, running on a dual-core 1GHz processor with 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage and the same candy-bar design. The biggest update in the ATRIX 2 is its bigger 4.3-inch (from 4.0-inches) screen with a qHD 960×540 resolution. The latest handset is also being released with Android 2.3 Gingerbread (although its older brother, is still stuck on Android 2.2). The ATRIX 2 has an 8MP back and VGA front cameras and can capture 1080p HD video.

It’s rumored that the ATRIX 2 carries a faster TI OMAP processor, ditching the NVidia Tegra 2 processor of the original ATRIX. Motorola has taken a step back with the battery, donning the new phone with a 1785mAh compared to 1930mAh for the ATRIX.

The ATRIX 2 will be available in the US on AT&T on October 16th for $99.99 with a two-year commitment. The phone touts AT&T’s HSPA+ for theoretical download speeds of up to 21Mbps. It shouldn’t take too long for the handset to travel to European shores as well.
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Apple iPhone 4S tops over 1 million pre-orders in first 24 hours

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  • October 10, 2011 at 8:27 am

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iPhone 4S - HD video recording

Despite the lackluster reception by the tech community, the iPhone 4S has managed to break all previous pre-order records at Apple. The new smartphone has exceeded 1 million pre-orders in the first 24 hours since it went on sale. The record trumps the previous record set by the iPhone 4, which recorded 600,000 pre-orders in a single day. Though bear in mind that the iPhone 4 was carried only by AT&T on release, while the iPhone 4S now has AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint on-board.

The iPhone 4S will be available at Apple stores starting 8:00 a.m. on October 14, but based on previous experience, expect huge lines and stock to run-out quickly. Best to order it online, in our opinion, though this now entails a 1-2 weeks delay. You might want to spend that time constructively by reading on the iPhone 4S’ new features, like Bluetooth 4.0.

Full Apple press release after the break.
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iPhone 4S to be the first smartphone with Bluetooth 4.0, opening the doors to a host of new applications

EditorialsNews

  • October 9, 2011 at 8:13 am

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iPhone 4S supports Bluetooth 4.0

You can count the number of devices supporting the Bluetooth 4.0 standard right now on the fingers of one hand. These include the 2011 Mac Mini and the MacBook Air, while the iPhone 4S is the first phone to support the standard. So what does Bluetooth 4.0 offer over the earlier versions.

Bluetooth 4.0 has two major advantages over earlier standards, first is BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), a low-energy and low-latency mode, second is that it can wake up other Bluetooth 4.0 devices and do no-code pairing. Nevertheless, it remains backwards compatible with all earlier standards, so you can still connect all your legacy devices.
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Samsung Nexus Prime running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich caught on video

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  • October 7, 2011 at 6:36 am

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Samsung Nexus Prime leak

You know that a new product launch is getting near when you have all sorts of leaks happening left and right. If you didn’t already know, the big news coming your way on the smartphone front is the announcement of the first Android 4.0 handset, rumored to be Samsung’s Nexus Prime (a.k.a. Galaxy Nexus) and happening at the next Unpacked event on October 11th.

The latest leak comes from the land of Dracula, mobilissimo.ro has posted a video of the Nexus Prime showing off the AMOLED HD beauty and most importantly Google’s latest Android build. A series of screen captures of the new OS are waiting for you together with the video after the break. Ice Cream Sandwich surely looks sweet!
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You can now pre-order the iPhone 4S

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  • October 7, 2011 at 3:40 am

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Apple iPhone 4S

Smart shoppers pre-order early, especially considering the potential demand for Apple’s newest smartphone. Apple has stated that the iPhone 4S will be available for pre-order starting October 7th; and true to its word, you can now pre-order the phone online, either directly from Apple or your carrier of choice.

In the US, Apple’s latest phone will cost you $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB version, with a two-year contract. To pre-order the iPhone 4S directly from Apple in US head here, and for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.

UK nationals can pre-order their sim-free iPhone 4S directly from Apple here, for the tidy sums of £499, £599 and £699 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. Vodafone UK and T-Mobile have also made the iPhone 4S available for pre-order, while you can register your interest for Orange and O2.