Latest Gear Live Videos
Samsung Galaxy Note 5-inch smartphone, 7.7-Inch Galaxy Tab announced
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google, Handhelds,
Samsung expanded its Galaxy family with the announcement of a 7.7-inch Galaxy Tab tablet, and the Galaxy Note, a smartphone that blurs the tablet-phone line with its sprawling 5-inch screen and bundled stylus for quick memo-taking, or what Samsung terms "free-idea capturing." The Galaxy Note combines a Galaxy Tab tablet with a Galaxy S smartphone and adds the benefits of pen and paper, the company said in a briefing here at IFA.
Running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the 6.8-ounce Galaxy Note is .37-inch thick and packs an unspecified dual-core 1.4GHz processor, an 8-megapixel back camera that captures HD video, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2500-mAH battery. Battery life was not disclosed.
But the most notable aspect of the Galaxy Note—which, again, is a slab-style smartphone, with an earpiece and a microphone, not a tablet—is its big 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED 1,280-by-800 (285ppi) WXGA display. Five inches, Samsung believes, is the perfect size to allow for 24/7 portability and single-handed operation, but still offer a large-enough display that eliminates the need to carry a tablet in addition to your phone. Consumers want to carry a single device when they're on the go, the company said.
Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy Note 5-inch smartphone, 7.7-Inch Galaxy Tab announced
Advertisement
Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Features, Google, Handhelds,
The galaxy has landed. Samsung, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile today announced three Galaxy S II smartphones for the three carriers. We got some time with the AT&T and Sprint models (T-Mobile was playing coy) and even ran some benchmarks.
The Galaxy S II has been Samsung's fastest-selling smartphone so far, with more than five million sold in 85 days, according to Samsung's press release. This model is coming out on fewer carriers than last year's Galaxy S did, with Verizon Wireless the most notable missing piece (Verizon is going with the Nexus Prime.)
But remember, Samsung is the master customizer of phones for carriers; just because a "Galaxy S II" isn't coming out for Verizon (or for Boost, for that matter) doesn't mean another phone won't appear soon with very similar features and a slightly different name on those carriers. The company is just introducing the first three models today.
Just like with the Galaxy S, the three Galaxy S II models are all a little different. The AT&T model looks a lot like the international Galaxy S II to which we gave an Editor's Choice award back in May, although Samsung traded the single home button at the bottom of the phone for the four standard Android action buttons.
Click to continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II hands-on with Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile models
Nexus Prime with Android 4.0 to launch exclusively on Verizon
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
Those waiting on the next big Android Nexus device won't have to wait that much longer, as we've just learned that the Nexus Prime--which will be the first phone to rock Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich--will be launching in October exclusively on Verizon Wireless. Of course, we expect the iPhone 5 to also launch in October on AT&T, Verizon, and possible Sprint and T-Mobile as well. Verizon wants to be the only carrier selling both the next-gen iPhone and the next-gen Android smartphone at the same time.
Read More 
| BGR
HP TouchPad discontinued after 49 days
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds,
Today HP announced that it is killing webOS hardware, including the TouchPad and Palm Pre and Veer smartphones. We will have more on that later, but the company seems upset that the phones and tablet haven't gained traction as fast as they expected it to. The TouchPad started selling on July 1, and just 49 days later, HP has killed it. Such a shame.
Here’s how to get free cell phone service
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Editorial, Hot Deals,
Yes, you can get a free cell phone with government assistance. If you make very little money, or you're part of other federal programs such as public housing, food stamps, SSI, or Medicaid, you can get a free mobile phone paid for by a fee on everyone else's phone bills.
This program has been around for years. According to the FCC, the government has been subsidizing landlines since 1984; the program, now called LifeLine, added mobile phones in 1997. LifeLine was enhanced in 2005 during the Bush administration, and TracFone's SafeLink, the first purely free LifeLine phone brand, started disbursing free phones in 2008.
"The telecoms haven't done a very good job promoting LifeLine, and the penetration rates have been dismal," said Jose Fuentes, Tracfone's director of government relations. TracFone operates SafeLink.
LifeLine is funded by the Universal Service Fund, which you see as a surcharge on your phone bill. Established by a 1996 law, the USF makes sure that people who live in rural and low-income areas, as well as schools and libraries can get phone service. It doesn't make a distinction between wired and wireless phones; you can get a subsidy for either, but you have to choose one.
Click to continue reading Here’s how to get free cell phone service
Verizon CFO is “disappointed” that iPhone 5 is not available yet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds,
With so many iPhone 5 rumors floating around, it's refreshing to hear one from an honest-to-goodness Apple partner speaking on the record. So mark it down in your rumor book that Verizon thought the next-generation Apple smartphone would be released in June but is now expecting it to arrive this fall.
"Obviously we're disappointed that the iPhone 5 didn't come out in June … we continue to prepare for it and when that comes we'll be ready," Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said this week on a webcast spotted by Channel Partners Online Thursday.
Speaking at the Oppenheimer Technology & Communications Conference, Shammo said it's likely that the much-anticipated iPhone will finally make its debut in the fall, which is in line with persistent rumors of a September or October release date—though; the Verizon exec "isn't ready to stake his life on it," according ot Channel Partners Online.
Click to continue reading Verizon CFO is “disappointed” that iPhone 5 is not available yet
Video: iPhone 5 clone shows cool form factor, horrible UI
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Rumors, Videos,
Remember those images of the black iPhone 5 clone that we featured a couple of weeks ago? Well, now we've got some video footage taking a look at a white iPhone 5 clone. It's the same form factor as the black phone, and we're pretty sure that this is what the iPhone 5 is going to end up looking like when Apple finally takes the stage to introduce their next smartphone. However, we are still holding out hope for a larger display, and the software on these clones is pretty bad. What do you think?
HTC strikes exclusive deal with Beats Audio, coming to HTC phones
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Music,
HTC has announced a strategic investment and partnership with Beats Electronics, with the goal of bringing high-quality sound to HTC phones.
HTC did not disclose the amount of the investment, which AllThingsD pegged at $300 million. HTC had previously announced an "major news announcement" for Friday, scheduled for 8:30 AM in Los Angeles.
In a separate statement, however, HTC said that a "line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations would be launched this fall". Beats Electronics is most known for its "Beats by Dr. Dre" brand, with a partnership with the iconic rapper and producer.
Click to continue reading HTC strikes exclusive deal with Beats Audio, coming to HTC phones
FCC filing shows Droid Bionic won’t be a global phone
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors,
A draft of the Motorola Droid Bionic's user manual surfaced on the Federal Communications Commission's website, confirming most of the specs that were pulled from Motorola's website last week.
On paper at least, the dual-core smartphone built for Verizon's super-fast LTE network looks like a beast. The filing confirms that it will sport a 4.3-inch qHD display, a GHz TI OMAP 4430 dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a VGA front-facing camera. It'll have an HDMI 1.4 output for mirroring the phone's display on a larger screen and support wireless charging. Furthermore, the Bionic will run Android 2.3.4 "Gingerbread."
Click to continue reading FCC filing shows Droid Bionic won’t be a global phone
Android is running on half of the smartphones in the world
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Google, Software,
Are almost 50 percent of the world's smartphones running Google's Android? According to Monday data from Canalys, Android ended the second quarter with 48 percent of the market, with Asia Pacific leading the charge.
Globally, the smartphone market is up 73 percent from last year, with 107.7 million devices shipped in the last quarter. Of the 56 countries tracked by Canalys, Android topped 35 of them, with 51.9 million shipments overall.
Why the boost? Canalys pointed to strong Android support from major handset makers like Samsung, HTC, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, ZTE, and Huawei. Android holds 85 percent of the market in South Korea and 71 percent in Taiwan alone.
Apple came in second place with 20.3 million iPhones sold and 19 percent of the market, which was enough to overtake Nokia's Symbian platform and make Apple the world's top smartphone vendor.
Click to continue reading Android is running on half of the smartphones in the world
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.