Droid Razr, Galaxy S II, Nexus S, HTC Rezound: Android 4.0 phones

Devices getting the Android Ice Cream Sandwich next year: From Samsung to Motorola.

Few months after the release of the Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus this month, a set of new Android devices are expected to get the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
Before we discuss the Android 4.0-ready smartphones, let’s talk about the much-anticipated operating system first — the Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sporting the number “4,” the Android Ice Cream Sandwich is obviously the best Android version yet, and also the most beautiful. Starting from its lock screen down to its app drawer, the new iteration of Android clearly shows the future of the operating system, a future that will focus on simplicity and beauty —  which is one of the best features of Apple’s popular iOS and the Microsoft’s not so popular Windows Phone operating system.
Yes, Android is powerful and arguably the most powerful operating system available in the smartphone market, but its previous versions lack “beauty,” and the unexplainable, but very much-needed “emotion,” and the absence of aesthetics has resulted to custom skins that ruined/improved the user interface.
Ice Cream Sandwich’s new contacts application, or the new “People app” according to Google, shows the new beauty of the new Android ecosystem (read this, Apple), large HD photos, beautiful icons, blue lines, and the Roboto font, the design philosophy used by the Android dev team for the new build.
Android’s new 4.0 upgrade promises new and exciting features. Listed below are the top 5, in my opinion:

1. Face Unlock: Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone owners can use his/her FACE (eyes, nose, ears, cheeks and lips) to unlock the device — an exciting feature especially if you’re always a victim of “can I borrow your phone.”
2. Browser enhancement: Android 4.0′s browser enhancements like beautiful multiple tabs, desktop site request, and offline reading are very exciting because smartphone’s synonym is “internet.”
3. Data Management: Verizon Wireless and AT&T owners will love this app.
4. Multitasking à la Honeycomb: Scan through all running applications and dismiss the app just by flick-to-dismiss.
5. Tablet and Smartphone in one: Android 4.0 supports the tablet (with larger screen), the smartphone (smaller screen), and the confused (Galaxy Note, Dell Streak and other in-the-middle devices).

According to Android’s dev team, the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system “builds on the things people love most about Android,” and it looks like Nokia is in trouble for not choosing Android because a more unified Android ecosystem is just an “update away.”
Now, let’s talk about the new Android devices that will get the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

From Motorola, the new Motorola Droid Razr will get the new OS, but not until the first half of next year, 2012. Rumors say the new OS will hit the device by February or March, but take it with a grain of salt.
For Samsung, the Korean company reportedly confirmed the 4.0 upgrade for the Samsung Galaxy S II (global), the Samsung Galaxy Note (global) on Q2 of 2012.
LG has dismissed all the rumors surrounding the word “lazy,” and has confirmed its PLAN to update the Optimus 2X and other high-end devices to 4.0 next year. Please read this again: PLAN.
HTC has announced that its current high-end devices, most likely the dual-core smartphones and several recent devices. HTC’s new smartphone, the HTC Rezound, will get the Android 4.0 “early next year,” according to the company. The HTC Rezound is the first and currently the only HTC device with confirmed ICS schedule.
Google also occupies a spot with the Nexus S, the 2010 Nexus device. According to the search engine giant, the Google Nexus S is scheduled to get the Android 4.0 update after the ICS update becomes open-sourced.
The Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system is gorgeous, more intuitive, and better than a skinned Gingerbread or Honeycomb device. Let’s hope that HTC (especially), Samsung, Motorola and other Android manufacturers are not going to skin the new OS.

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Droid Razr, Galaxy S II, Nexus S, HTC Rezound: Android 4.0 phones, under Gadgets and Mobile Category.
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Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket vs HTC Rezound

Two new Android devices with LTE will arrive this month, what phone should you get?

Let’s just say you’re not into the latest and greatest Android operating system yet, the Android ICS or Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 that will hit the market courtesy of Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus.
Well, two new Android devices will compete against the Galaxy Nexus this month, offering Android Gingerbread operating system — the HTC Rezound with Beats Audio, and AT&T’s new LTE Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket with new CPU and larger screen.
For the non-techie consumers out there, the Android Gingerbread operating was released last year, but still a very powerful Android version which supports battery management, faster web browsing, better application support including Google Talk with Video (for 2.3.4) and enhanced gaming, internet calling, improved virtual keyboard, Near Field Communication support and downloads application (management).

The new HTC Rezound with Beats Audio will join the Verizon Wireless LTE lineup on November 14th and priced at $299.99 on contract. To lure the customers, HTC is giving away a free Beats by Dre earbuds (yup, inside the box) — and the buds is compatible with the phone’s built-in software that will “enhance” music playback quality.
The Rezound smartphone manufactured by HTC is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, the similar processor used by the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II or S2. The phone is also capable of faster multitasking courtesy of the 1GB of RAM.
The phone’s screen is 4.3-inch Super LCD screen with 1280 x 720 resolution, or the 720p resolution similar to the Galaxy Nexus, but has better pixel density due to the Rezound’s smaller screen. For a comparison, the Rezound (342 ppi) sports more ppi or pixels per inch than the iPhone 4S (326ppi), take note Apple, thanks!
HTC is claiming that the HTC Rezound is equipped with better primary camera than other smartphones out there, the 8-megapixel f/2.2 and 28mm wide-angle lens with BSI sensor and dual-LED flash. The HTC Rezound also includes camera enhancement software with effects like panoramic mode and action burst. For your digital mirror needs or video chat craving, the HTC Rezound also features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
HTC has added its own touch with the HTC Sense, the custom Android skin running on top of the original Android Gingerbread user interface. The HTC Sense UI tweak is a love/hate feature, “love” if you’re coming from an older HTC phone, but “hate” if you’re from a Samsung or Motorola phone, especially if you’re not an advance user. However, the HTC Sense offers enhancements like the giant clock and a set of other clocks, better widgets, HTC keyboard and more — making the Android Gingerbread operating system a “more useful” smartphone software.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or the “S2 Skyrocket” is, in my opinion, the real Samsung Galaxy S II of AT&T based on features and specs. If you bought the Galaxy S II last month, well, this phone is a piece of bad news for you because it is technically better and more competitive.


The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket (AT&T) is the LTE Galaxy S II variant sporting new CPU and slightly larger screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket is powered by 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm APQ8060 — similar CPU used by the HTC Rezound, or the T-Mobile HTC Amaze 4G if you need a reference. This CPU is a love/hate feature especially if you love the Exynos and Mali-400 MP combination of the original Samsung Galaxy S II.

The screen is the Galaxy S II Skyrocket’s weakest point in my opinion, especially if you will compare it to the HTC Rezound or the iPhone 4S. The phone sports 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus with 480 x 800 resolution — and with 207 ppi, slightly lower pixel per inch compared to the original Galaxy S II due to the Skyrocket’s larger screen.

The Galaxy S II Skyrocket features 8-megapixel primary camera with autofocus or macro focus (and tap the screen to focus feature), and with single-LED flash. the Galaxy S II Skyrocket also includes camera tools and supports 1080p video recording. For video chatting and selcas, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket is equipped with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket is pre-installed with Android Gingerbread OS 2.3.5 with the new TouchWiz user interface, similar to the global Galaxy S II’s custom UI. The new Samsung Android skin is more optimized and more intuitive compared to its previous versions and surprisingly faster and more competitive.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket will arrive on November 6th, and sport the tag price of $249.99 with a two-year commitment and requires data plan. Apparently, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket is cheaper, but the HTC Rezound includes a Beats Audio earbuds, so it’s like a “tie.”

The Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket is running under the banner of AT&T and its LTE network, so if your area is not yet covered by AT&T’s 4G LTE network yet, check out Verizon’s list of LTE coverage. LTE is very useful, but not actually a must-use especially if you hate your phone’s charger.

If you love watching videos, the HTC Rezound may be the better choice because it features more pixels, but if you love portability, the Galaxy S II Skyrocket (9.5 mm thin and weighs 131 grams) is the phone to get than the HTC Rezound (13.7 mm thin and weighs 164 grams).

According to HTC, the new smartphone will get the Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 update early next year. No word yet from Samsung about the 4.0 upgrade for the Galaxy S II Skyrocket.

 

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket vs HTC Rezound, under Gadgets and Mobile Category.

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Motorola Droid Razr to get two (cheaper) LTE AT&T rivals

Motorola Droid Razr wants the world, aside from Verizon

Motorola Mobility announces more Motorola Razr markets, including China and Mexico.

Razr is arguably one of the most popular mobile phone brand names, and it looks like Motorola will try to reincarnate the device, and its global popularity.
The new Motorola Razr, or in USA — the Motorola Droid Razr, will compete against Apple’s new iPhone 4S and other popular smartphones including the new Galaxy Nexus, Samsung’s Galaxy S II and the room full of HTC phones.

Surprisingly, Motorola will not only compete against other smartphones here in USA, but also in other parts of the world, including emerging markets like China, Brazil and Mexico, aside from European and other Asian countries.
The new Motorola Razr, without the “Droid Branding,” is scheduled to hit the Chinese market this month (fourth week). No word yet about the Droid Razr’s price tag for China.
In Mexico, the country’s Telcel carrier started accepting pre-orders for the device on Friday. According to the Mexican carrier, the new Motorola Razr is priced at 1,999 Mexican Pesos with a 2-year contract agreement, or 10,999 Mexican Pesos for pre-paid. In Brazil, the Motorola Razr will hit the local market on November 16th.
Here in the U.S., the Motorola Droid Razr or RAZR if you prefer, will arrive in stores courtesy of Verizon Wireless on November 11, 2011. The device is sporting the tag price of $299.99 on contract, and requires additional monthly fee for data.
The Motorola Droid Razr is powered by 1.2GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 CPU and 1GB of RAM, equipped with an 8-megapixel primary camera, front-facing HD camera, and 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen with 540 x 960 pixels or qHD resolution. The phone is pre-installed with Android Gingerbread 2.3, but Motorola is claiming that the device will get an Android Ice Cream Sandwich update early next year.
Here in USA, the Droid Razr supports LTE or Long Term Evolution provided by Verizon Wireless, but in other countries like in China and Brazil, the new Razr smartphone supports HSPA+ data connectivity, which is faster than the regular HSPA 3G, but technically slower than the LTE.

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Motorola Droid Razr wants the world, aside from Verizon, under Gadgets and Mobile Category.
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Nook Color 2 is a tablet, not cheaper than Kindle Fire: Reports

Nook Color 2 leaked online, will be called Nook Tablet.

Nook Color is an e-reader but due to its operating system, Android, advanced users have been able to root the device to run their own custom ROMs.
For starters, rooting the Nook Color will allow a user to install “unsupported” applications and run third-party programs, making the device more tablety similar to Apple’s iPad and other conventional Android tablets.

Barnes & Noble has achieved success due to popularity of the Android and the popularity of e-books, and the company will try to reinvent the Nook this year, by dropping the “Color” and adding the “tablet” word — the Nook Tablet.
According to multiple leaks posted online, the new Nook Tablet is actually the rumored “Nook Color 2″ that will arrive in stores this month.
Leaks say the Nook Tablet is powered by dual-core TI OMAP4 CPU, includes 16GB of internal storage plus microSD card slot for additional storage, and 7-inch vivid LCD screen. Similar to other tablets, the new Nook Tablet or Nook Color 2 also offers web surfing, e-mail and games via the book store’s own Android application marketplace.
No word yet about the tablet’s screen resolution, its RAM, size and weight, but a site said the new Nook is thinner than the older model.
Apparently, B&N will compete against Amazon’s cheap Kindle Fire Android tablet ($199), and it looks like the company has a chance based on the tablet’s specs and “openness.” However, the book retailer’s new tablet is more expensive than the Kindle Fire, and leaks have confirmed that it is priced at $249 almost $50 more expensive than Amazon’s.
The new Nook Tablet, still according to multiple reports, will land in stores and online on November 16, which is actually the Kindle Fire’s “shipping date.”
Can the new Nook Tablet outsell Amazon’s Kindle Fire?

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Nook Color 2 is a tablet, not cheaper than Kindle Fire: Reports, under Gadgets and Mobile Category. Sources: Geek, SlashGear.
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Samsung bendable Google Android smartphones next year?

Ambitious? Yes. Impressive? Yes. Practical? Er–more of a novelty don’t you think?
Imagine going to work then showing your colleagues how far your phone’s screen can bend — that’s pretty cool, right? But what exactly is the purpose of a flexible screen on a mobile phone?

Well, if you think that I was ranting then you completely thought wrong. The Korean electronics giant, Samsung has just announced a few days ago that their flexible display technology will be ready for primetime sometime in 2012, probably around the same period that their Finnish-based mobile phone competitor, Nokia will be releasing an official version of their bendable concept handset.
Samsung has been showcasing their flexible Super AMOLED displays for quite some time now and we’re yet to see when they’ll be able to let the consumers do the screen ‘bending’ for themselves. Samsung’s history in pursuing their goal of making flexible displays relevant in our daily lives started when they acquired Liquavista back in January earlier this year, Liquavista is a Dutch company that specializes in developing/producing displays that are flexible, brightly colored, can be transparent and consumes considerably less power than traditional mobile displays with the help of a special process called electrowetting.
According to Samsung, due to the ability of the electrowetting display to quickly manipulate individual pixels within the thin-film, electrowetting displays are more than 70 times faster than existing e-ink displays, which will allow for color video in which e-ink displays currently fail to deliver.
A flexible display may seem like a novelty at first but once you try thinking out of the box, the technology can actually serve a lot of purpose. Since the display is more resilient to stress/crashes, cracked LCD screen will soon be a thing of the past. Gorilla Glass displays, bendable digitizers and unlimited materials to choose for a flexible handset chassis will all take mobile device durability to a whole new level… bending phones are extremely pocketable so that’s another great thing.

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Samsung bendable Google Android smartphones next year?, under Gadgets and Mobile Category. Sources: Pocket lint, Venture beat.
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HTC Rezound vs Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus

HTC announces new smartphone, confirms Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 update next year.
What’s the point of releasing a new Android device without the latest and greatest operating system? Well, HTC has promised its customers that the Android 4.0 or the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system will hit its new product that will debut this month, the HTC Rezound with Beats Audio media technology.

In a statement sent to PopHerald, HTC has confirmed the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system upgrade for the brand new HTC Rezound, and the update “will available in early 2012,” similar to Motorola’s promise for the new Droid Razr, also a Verizon Wireless Android LTE smartphone.
Plus, a source who requested anonymity is claiming that HTC may implement a “no hard-skinning” for HTC Rezound’s Ice Cream Sandwich OS. For Android fans, the HTC Rezound was the long-rumored HTC Vigor smartphone.
Apparently, a very popular Android device will debut this month in USA, packed with pure Google Android Ice Cream Sandwich, the Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus — and it looks like HTC wants to take advantage of the operating system’s clean, more intuitive and fast user interface.
The phone sports a 4.3-inch full HD screen with 1280 x 720 resolution, dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB of on-board storage with free 16GB MicroSD card pre-installed, 1620mAh battery, 8-megapixel camera with f/2.2 28mm lens and dual LED flash and with 1080p video support, 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat and “self-portrait,” and Android Gingerbread 2.3.5 with HTC Sense and will be upgraded to Android 4.0 ICS early next year.
HTC will include a Beats Audio earbuds, and it will be compatible with the phone’s built-in Beats Audio sound technology that will automatically detect the buds if installed. Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO said in a statement that the new Rezound smartphone is the product of his company’s dedication to “offer the latest in sight and sound innovation,” adding that the new HTC Rezound “enables customers to enjoy their favorite music and entertainment on-the-go like never before” courtesy of Verizon’s LTE and the Beats Audio brand.
The new HTC Rezound, a Verizon Wireless Long Term Evolution Android smartphone, will hit the market on November 14th, 2011 sporting the tag price of $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. According to Verizon, customers will need to subscribe the carrier’s Talk plan beginning at $39.99/monthly, aside from the data plan starting at $30/month for 2GB.
Rumors say the new Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus (Verizon variant) will hit stores this month, after the launch of the Droid Razr and the HTC Rezound. HTC’s statement regarding the HTC Rezound’s ICS upgrade is a good news, but has been quite predictable as well because it’s very obvious that the new Android version is more polished, and more intuitive and productive than HTC’s Sense skin.

This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as HTC Rezound vs Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus (Prime), under Gadgets and Mobile Category.
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Google Propeller (Current) vs Yahoo Livestand [Updated]

Yahoo’s Livestand vs Google’s Propeller or Current?
iPad, Apple’s popular tablet PC, is changing the way readers “read news,” and it looks like Google and Yahoo are set to offer their own “ways” of serving the news.
Google is reportedly poised to introduce its own Flipboard-like application this month — the rumored “Propeller” or “Current” (according to All Things D), while Yahoo will introduce its own app, the “LiveStand,” with similar features like aggregating content from its own network and from other news publishers. For starters, Google doesn’t produce its own news content.

Yahoo is claiming that “the more you use (Livestand), the more it gets to know you,” but no word yet from the internet company regarding the features of the application. Meanwhile, rumors say the Google Propeller or Google Current is an HTML5-based RSS reader for the Apple iPad and Android tablets, smartphones, and oversized smartphones.

Google’s magazine-like reader will focus on delivering content from the company’s chosen media partners — and aside from serving the news, Google’s new app is reportedly into giving the publishers another popular way to generate advertising revenue revenue (thanks Google).



This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Google Propeller (Current) vs Yahoo Livestand, under Internet and Social Media Category. Source: All Things D.
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iPad 3 (with iPhone 5) release date in Q3 2012?

Taiwan website claims third-generation Apple iPad won’t arrive until the second half of next year.
Digitimes, the website with sources coming from electronics suppliers, is claiming that the next generation iPad, or the so-called iPad 3, won’t hit the US stores until Q3 of 2012. Q3, or the July to September quarter, is the iPhone season but it looks like Apple is ready to reorganize its product release schedule.

  The report also added that Apple will release an iPad 2S-like tablet in March, and will release the real iPad 3 by or on third quarter of 2012. The slightly-upgraded iPad 2 “will be thinner than iPad 2, and will offer longer battery life.”

A separate report still from Digitimes adds that the popular computer and smartphone company will overhaul its full devices lineup over the course of next year, indirectly suggesting that Apple may release two devices before the shopping season, the rumored REAL iPad 3 and the next iPhone after the iPhone 4S — or the so-called iPhone 5.

It is worth mentioning that Apple announced the iPad 2 last March, while the iPhone 4S was released last month.

This new set of Apple rumors must be taken with a grain of salt. However, I should note that Digitimes was one of the few websites that accurately predicted the “no iPhone 5″ scenario, and reported about the iPhone 4S — a no-LTE smartphone similar to the iPhone 4 but with an 8-megapixel camera and dual-core processor.



This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as iPad 3 (with iPhone 5) release date in Q3 2012?, under Gadgets and Mobile Category.
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Aelios is a Beautiful Weather App for iPad

I've seen several weather Apps for iPad, but I have to say that I haven't seen many as beautiful and elegant as Aelios Weather. Aelios Weather has a simple approach. You have a metallic Swiss watch looking dial that covers a map of the world. You can pan and zoom to any location you want, tap the Location icon for weather of your current location or simply type in a search for a specific city. As you pan around the dial will auto lock onto the large cities in the area. Once you lock in on a location in a moment or two you'll see 24 hour forecast. Use your finger to turn the dial and you'll see the 7 day forecast including highs, lows, precipitation, and winds. Each icon has subtle animation that you don't even notice at first, but once you do, you'll find yourself starring at them for a few moments. I love the animated lightning/storm cloud. You also get the current time, date for the location you're viewing. Aelios also lets you choose your choice of weather provider. It defaults to AccuWeather.com.

If you're looking for a full-blown weather App with Radar maps, videos, etc. then this one is probably not for you. However, if you're looking for an elegant, visually appealing way of checking the current conditions as well as forecasts for just about any location in the world, then Aelios is your App. I'd love to see the ability to add a list of favorite locations or at least a list of recent searches.

You can get Aelios for $2.99 here from the 

 

Google+ gets Android Ice Cream Sandwich makeover

Google updates social networking site’s Android application, weeks ahead of the much-anticipated Android 4.0 bump.
Google has updated its Google+ application for Android platform on Monday, offering new user interface similar to Android’s much-anticipated makeover, the Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

From paper plane icon (send button) to magazine-like photo gallery style, Google’s Product Manager Ben Eidelson wrote on his Google+ account stream that the redesign is the output of the Google+ team after working hard with Android development team “as they developed Android 4.0.”
The Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 will debut via the new Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus next week (in Europe), and this month for United States market courtesy of Verizon Wireless and its 4G Long Term Evolution technology.
The new Google+ application update supports smartphones running Froyo 2.2 to Gingerbread 2.3.
Aside from using the “look and feel” of the new Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the new Google+ update, according to Google, also offers several bugs fix, and also improves the battery life of the Android smartphone using it, and “the beauty and simplicity” of the application.
The complete features of the Google+ version 2.1:
Completely new app and new visual design.
Battery life improvements.
Navigation and performance improvements.
Significant improvements to notifications.
Brand new posting UI.
Several bug fixes.
Support for Google Apps users.
Ability to sign out.
Add people to a circle from circle profiles.
Google+ is considered as one of the biggest project of the search engine giant. The new social networking site is also available for iOS devices via Apple’s native application store.
Some of the compelling features of the Google+ application are instant upload of pictures (for Android), instant messaging, reading and writing messages, and free online storage for photos and videos.
This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com under Gadgets and Mobile Category. Sources: Google+, Ben Eidelson.
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News360 Finally Finds Its Way to The iPhone

If you're anything like me, you're busy. As busy as I am I don't want to spend my time searching through all sorts of sites looking for the latest news that interests me. Admittedly I really like the Zite iPad News Reader App on the iPad platform. I have been hoping for an iPhone version to read my content in both places but unfortunately they haven't launched the iPhone version yet. With no iPhone version, I started using News360 to keep up with the latest news and headlines.


Features You'll Love
News360 is a feature rich App that provides thousands of different content sources from which to pull its content. One of the biggest, and best features contained within News360 is the manner in which it figures out what you want to read. Sure, you have the option to manually select the content that you would like to see. News, Auto, technology etc., but the developers have come up with a much faster way to get deeper integration with what you really want to read about. You are presented with the option to connect to multiple sites where you already have accounts to let News360 search for the content that you prefer. The options are Facebook, Google+, Evernote, Twitter, and Google Reader. News 360 searches through each of these services to find exactly what you are interested in and provides like content. In a few seconds it does automatically what it would take literally hours for a user to do manually. It's a real time saver.

Another feature that I really like on News360 is the offline content feature. Save articles to read later even when you're offline. News360 saves the article to your (free) News360 account and to all of your devices with the App installed. This is great for when I don't have a signal, such as in an airplane, a subway, etc. Speaking of the News360 account, it allows you to sync your preferences and content selection across all of your platforms. This is a really nice feature. Sign up once, on one device to setup your content, then just sign in on your other devices to transfer your content to them. Very seamless, very easy.

Topics are broken down into sections, Gadgets, Software, Computers, etc. Under each section there are multiple stories presented for each topic. The topics are totally customizable by the user. For example I didn't see an "iPhone" topic after the initial automatic content loading so I added my own. If there is one area where News360 falls behind it is in this category. I searched for "iPhone Apps" but got a "no results found" message in return. Also under my user generated iPhone category there seems to be less stories than in the other automatically generated sections. This I found to be a little limiting because these are topics that I am quite interested in. 





The bottom line
For all around information on most any subject, News360 does a great job. It allows you to sync and read the same content no matter what mobile platform you are on, and it is user customizable. To me this makes News360 a staple in my News Folder on both my iPad and iPhone.

Galaxy Nexus (Prime) release date revealed?

Samsung and Google’s Galaxy Nexus arriving after Black Friday?
Yet another Galaxy Nexus leak was posted on the internet. This time, the document is claiming that Samsung’s new flagship device, the Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus, will arrive after Black Friday in United States.

Apparently, the Galaxy Nexus (Nexus Prime) is scheduled to hit the UK market on November 17 — so if this rumor is true, then it is highly possible that the device will debut in Europe and Asia first before USA — the similar strategy used by Samsung with its popular Galaxy S II smartphone.
The Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus Verizon Wireless variant will be equipped with Long Term Evolution technology, which theoretically supports faster data internet connection compared to the global Galaxy Nexus smartphone version with the HSPA+ 3G connectivity.
If the leaked Verizon Wireless holiday roadmap is accurate, then the Motorola Droid Razr may get more customers because the phone is reportedly set to arrive on November 10, more than a week ahead of the rumored Galaxy Nexus launch. The Droid Razr is one of the much-anticipated Android smartphones (Q4 2011) due to the Motorola’s promise to bring Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich early next year, and of course, the phone’s thinner and sturdy profile.
HTC Rezound is also included in the leaked list, and if the document is true, then the Rezound will arrive shortly after the Droid Razr’s launch. The Droid Razr and the HTC Rezound are equipped with Verizon’s 4G Long Term Evolution data technology, and the smartphones are pre-installed with Android Gingerbread 2.3 running custom skin on top of the original user interface.
For starters, the Samsung Google Galaxy Nexus is the first Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device, skin-less, and featuring new enhancements like face unlock, zero shutter lag, more polished user interface and support for high definition touchscreen size.
See the leaked roadmap by hitting the source link below.


This report was originally posted on PopHerald.com as Galaxy Nexus (Prime) release date revealed?, under Gadgets and Mobile Category. Source: Engadget.
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iPhone 4S Siri: Now working on iPhone 4 smoothly?

Siri working on iPhone 4?

 Unnoficial Apple weblog Tuaw is reporting that on Sunday, Apple application programmer Steve Troughton-Smith and application developer for Cydia Grant Paul have successfully ported Siri on the iPhone 4 and the iPod Touch 4th generation. The report adds that Apple’s novelty feature on the two unofficially supported devices is fully functional.

For starters, Siri is an exclusive voice command application for the iPhone 4S, Apple’s new smartphone with dual-core processor and iOS 5 pre-installed. Siri rely on internet connection and Apple’s servers, and the hacked Siri application on the iPhone 4 and 4th generation iPod Touch, according to the report, work the same — it transmits and receives data from Apple servers.

And unlike the previous attempts made by the team, the videos show that Siri on the iPhone 4 run at full speed and connects properly to Apple’s network, but the 4th gen iPod Touch reportedly failed to transmit the voice data to Apple’s cloud due to the device’s microphone, which is reportedly not “as good” as the iPhone 4.

Troughton-Smith told 9to5Mac that Siri on the jailbroken iPhone 4 seems to be fully functional, adding that he’s still working on the “rough edges.” Hit the source links below for the full coverage, and see the developers’ video embedded below.

System Activity Monitor for iOS

There have been a few reports going around lately about people having problems with battery life after upgrading to iOS 5 or to the new iPhone 4s. While I haven't had any real issues myself with the iPhone 4s, it's great to know whether or not if an App has run a muck and is chewing up system resources. One sign of this is if your iPhone or other iDevice is all of a sudden warm to the touch. This usually means that the processor is working overtime. When that happens you can try things like quitting some of the Apps running in the background or a simple reboot of the device. However, I would like to do more than just solve this problem temporarily, I'd like to know which app in particular is causing the problem?


System Activity Monitor shows what's going on in real-time
This App is similar to the Mac OS Activity Monitor in that it shows you in real time which apps or processes are running and more importantly which ones are running with high amounts of processor time. If you're not playing a game or doing something else that would task the processor then your device should be running with the majority of the processor count in "idle." If it's not, you can quickly identify which App or process is causing a problem.


I highly recommend System Activity Monitor as a troubleshooting tool!


You can get System Activity Monitor for $0.99 here from the