In a report by SquareTrade, a company that sells extended warranties for many mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone 4 was found to be the device least likely to have electronic malfunctions. However, it also had the highest likelihood of breaking when dropped. From TechCrunch:
The year long study looked at 50,000 warranty replacements. The iPhone 4 had the fewest malfunctions not due to accidental damage while Motorola and HTC Android phones tied for second. As for breakage, the iPhone 4 is king of the heap with 9.4%
Not related to the possibleGlassgate situation, this news is still rather off-putting in a world where the iPhone 4 is one of the greatest designed phones around — but that design includes glass on both sides.
msung could probably say that they have a hit on their hand when it comes to their Galaxy S devices, but that looks like it would be an understatement. Samsung has come forward with their results for the quarter, and they managed to sell abunchof devices. However, the main takeaway, besides the fact that they sold 71 million handsets around the globe, is the fact that they sold 3 million Galaxy S devices in the United States alone.
All the variations, making an appearance on all of the major wireless carriers in this neck of the woods, played their part. From AT&T’s Captivate, to Verizon’s Fascinate, the Galaxy S devices played a huge role for Samsung, and it’s obvious that they’re not slowing down any time soon. It will remain to be seen if the Continuum, which is set to launch on Verizon here in just a couple of days, will see the same overwhelming appeal as the other Galaxy S devices.
Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 is an impressive phone with its large display and now a leaked picture of the phone's successor has apparently surfaced, dubbed the Anzu, or X12. Specific details on the phone haven't been mentioned, but it's been said that it's a very slim device, offering a 4.3-inch display and HDMI output. One of the more interesting tidbits is that it might be shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread (despite being pictured with Android 2.1). The X12 will apparently be in the same category as the PlayStation Phone and they're being tested alongside each other. Both devices seem to offer a similar display size and it's been said that both phones will be officially announced some time before or shortly after Christmas.
During Steve Jobs’ recent anti-Android tiradeon an Apple earnings call, Jobs said his company “anxiously” awaited a report that would show which mobile operating system had the best performance. Here it is, Mr. Jobs.
Gartner released its Q3 2010 estimates and Symbian retained the top spot as best-selling mobile OS. But to Jobs’ likely dismay, Android has surpassed iOS to become the second most popular operating system among handsets sold in the last three months.
Android has already established itselfas the best in the U.S., but not in the rest of the world. Gartner reports that Android accounted for 25.5 percent of global smartphone sales; iOS accounted for 16.7 percent. That’s a complete role reversal from Android’s 3.5 percent during Q3 2009 and iOS’s 17 percent.
Android is the No. 2 global operating system, but it’s No. 1 on Verizon. Gartner estimates that 75 to 80 percent of phones sold on Verizon were Android.
The Galaxy S line helped Samsung become the second best-performing manufacturer, though that includes non-Android products.
Other Android-producing companies include Sony Ericsson at No. 6, Motorola at #7, and HTC at #8.
Yahooupdated a couple of its more popular apps, Messenger and Mail, to include some much needed new features. Messenger now hasofficial support for video chattingon the MyTouch 4G plus “experimental support” on the EVO and zero support for theGalaxy Tab. Actually, Yahoo apps in general appear not to support ANY Galaxy S devices which is a little odd. There are only 3 million+ in existence around the world. The mail app now allows for multiple accounts, lets you preview photos and has a more polished notification system. Like I said, all “much need” stuff.
*For video chatting to work, you will need both the Yahoo Messenger app and the video add-0n.
You probably know by now what Google Instant does . We have been using Google Instant for a couple of weeks on our computers and now that everyone is getting used to Google Instant , Google has made the Instant beta available on most of the mobile devices in US .
To experience the Google Instant on mobile platform just visit Google.com or if you are visiting Google from some country specific Google domain , click the Go to Google.com on the homepage . On the Google.com page just turn 'On' the Instant (beta ) and you are ready to experience the power of Instant on your iPhone or Android phone .
Like the desktop version of Google Instant, when you type on your mobile device you’ll see predictions of what you might be searching for. If you type [air], for example, you should see [airtran] [airline tickets] along with other predictions. Results for the first prediction appear automatically, and tapping on the other predictions will display those results. Pressing the enter key or the search button skips the predictions and will display results for exactly what you’ve typed.
Google Instant for mobile works best on 3G and WiFi networks, but since the quality of any wireless connection can fluctuate, we’ve made it easy to enable or disable Google Instant without ever leaving the page. Just tap the “Turn on” or “Turn off” link. The new AJAX and HTML5 implementation has proved to be a great improvement on speed of search results and the capability to update pages with each key stoke rather than the need to load a new page on each query .
But the key question in our mind is the real estate which smartphones offer , while searching on the Instant , the keyboard consumes 40% of screen space and the 10% is consumed by search query box , so each query can display only 2 results and to look further we need to scroll down . While typing again takes us back to the query box even from the last result you are viewing and that's a smart feature . While the Instant beta will evolve over time and we will have a complete web based search solution on our smartphones too but before that just check out our demo video below :
And finally Airtel is launching 3G services in INDIA after a long wait .
3G is supposed to come for handsets equipped with HSPA and WCDMA .Basically, HSPA is a collection of two main technologies HSDPA and HSUPA so dont get confused listening to the HSDPA from BSNL . Practically they both are same technologies .
What is 3G technology ?
3G technology is the latest in mobile communications. 3G stands for "third generation". 3G uses a software enhancement called High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), which sends data many times faster than current 2G networks. For you, that translates into the freedom to send and receive text, graphics, audio and video content, in 3G coverage areas. 3G technology is intended to get the best out of your smartphones as with increased bandwidth and transfer rates you can do almost everything on your mobile which you could only do on a PC or Laptop earlier like video conferencing, receiving streaming video from the web, sending and receiving faxes and instantly downloading e-mail messages with attachments
To check if your mobile phone is compatible with Airtel 3G services , go here .
If your mobile phone is not listed here like my HTC Desire , you can just open HTC's official website and check in the specifications and check in the 'Network' whether it is a HSPA (HSDPA) or WCDMA or both .
But if you are using a CDMA version of the same model like in case of HTC Desire you will not be able to use the 3G service .
We are expecting Airtel to start the service from tomorrow on the auspicious occasion of Diwali here in INDIA and everyone is excited to experience the power of 3G when 4G is already functional in major areas in US .
Along with Airtel , Tata Docomo and Vodafone also have plans for 3G support . So just relax and enjoy your 3G ride soon with any of these carriers soon .
Get ready G2 owners because it looks like an OTA update will begin distribution on November 3rd (yes, that's today) toflip the switchon WiFi tethering and T-Mobile'sWiFi Calling for Androidfeature. The anticipated update lets G2 owners make voices calls and send SMS messages from WiFi networks without afemtocellthus conserving their monthly contractual network allotments -- something that could prove very beneficial at home. It also includes WiFi hotspot tethering (a native part of the Android 2.2 Froyo OS) although T-Mobile won't have data plans ready at the same time. In other words, enjoy your free WiFi tethering while it lasts.
According to a recent report from Neilsen, one of the world’s leading
suppliers of marketing information, half of Android users are under the
age of 35 and this ratio is the highest when compared to other OS’s
,followed by Apple , Symbian ,Windows and Blackberry .
Variations
in age groups on every OS shows the importance of categories of apps
which will cater to the needs of the dominating age group in the
particular OS .
What does it mean to Android application developers ? Does it mean
they need to target the younger crowd (18-35) by creating apps and games
which are entertaining and fun or just follow the same trends as in
past .
After hearing many different rumors about the HTC Mecha smartphone for a few months, its about time that we are shown some real evidence. The photo below is from HTC’s HTC Sense website. When choosing your device for your HTC Sense account, the HTC Mecha shows up along side the Desire HD and the Desire Z.
Although this does provide some confirmation that HTC is working on a device named “Mecha”, the image shown below appears to be the old HTC Hero smartphone. I’m not sure if HTC is planning on recreating the Hero’s design for a new phone, but probably not. Unfortunately, the HTC Mecha will no longer show up on the website if you attempt to create an account. We will keep you updated on any more rumors/details on the HTC Mecha.
According to reports, there is anHTC Incredible HDin the hands of certain Verizon reps and is scheduled to launch on November 23rd (Yes, next month.). You may remember this device after shots of itleaked out throughBGRa couple of months back, looking like the HTC device which we wish had landed on VZW from the beginning. There were rumored specs such as a front facing camera, 4.3″ screen, etc., but what we really know now is that if it comes out, it’ll be the U.S. version of the Desire HD.
All I can say, is that I know a mysterious HTC phone has been in the hands of a couple of testers, but have not heard one word about a possible release date. It seems unlikely that it will be released for the holidays, especially with an entire lineup of phoneshitting stores on the 11th including 2 new Droids, but you never know. One thing I have been told is that theDroid ProandDroid 2 Globalwere supposed to be the final “Droid” branded phones for this year, meaning if this comes out, don’t be surprised if lacks our favorite tag.
Over the weekend, theWall Street Journalstarted running a poll which asked users “Who makes the best mobile operating system?” and after Apple jumped out to an early lead, the Android posse brought us back to take over the top spot. Then out of no where came Microsoft, who basically over night, managed almost 13,000 votes to take a substantial edge over everyone else. This definitely pissed off some Android faithful who have apparently rigged up a bot or some sort of hack to drop vote after Android vote on the poll.
As you can see from the shot above, the Android numbers are well over 400K and if you refresh the poll page, can see that they aren’t stopping now.
TheDolphin Browser HDhopped up to version 4.0 and is available in the market for free. The screenshot above details some of the changes that were made to improve the overall experience in this top notch browser. You will find new settings and bookmarks shortcuts if you swipe from the left or right. Nice additions, indeed.
They also tweaked some things in order to fix a few minor bugs:
Fix swipe action issue – side bar is too easy to slide out.
Fix drag down window issue – cannot click the links on the top of the page.
Bookmarks Folder Support
Multi-language Support ( 12 languages) & UI upgrade
Building on yesterday’s story of Apple announcing they wouldn’t be releasing the white iPhone 4until Spring 2011comes new rumors that they’ve cancelled the phantom shade indefinitely, and will not be making it available whatsoever. BGR reports:
According to a previous source of ours, we have been told that Apple in fact has no plans to release the white model iPhone 4.
With all of the mixed reports we’ve been seeing on the white iPhone lately, we don’t know what to believe anymore. It’s possible that, due to the timeline and events played out so far, Apple may just wait until the iPhone 5 is released in summer 2011 before officially bringing the white iPhone to the table.
What do you think? Will we ever see it? Do you even care anymore?
Is Apple about to take carrier disintermediation to the next level by contracting their own, built-in SIM card for future iPhones? GigaOm thinks so:
Sources inside European carriers have reported that Apple has been working with SIM-card manufacturer Gemalto to create a special SIM card that would allow consumers in Europe to buy a phone via the web or at the Apple Store and get the phones working using Apple’s App Store.
Right now, even with unlocked iPhones and iPads, you still need to get a carrier-specific SIM card. If the SIM were embedded, however, that’s one less carrier interaction to worry about. The entire process could be shifted to the device, much as plan management is already done on the iPad.
The Gemalto SIM, according to my sources, is embedded in a chip that has an upgradeable flash component and a ROM area. The ROM area contains data provided by Gemalto with everything related to IT and network security, except for the carrier-related information. The flash component will receive the carrier related data via a local connection which could be the PC or a dedicated device, so it can be activated on the network. Gemalto will provide the back-end infrastructure that allows service and number provisioning on the carrier network.
Would it present a problem for multi-device power users accustomed to swapping SIMs between iPhone, Android, webOS, and other handsets? Hopefully not. They’d still have to get a SIM from their carrier, same as now. They just wouldn’t have to worry about swapping their iPhone anymore.
VLC has been updated as a universal app that now supports iPhone as well as iPad. The update is now available in the iTunes App Store and allows you to:
Watch natively unsupported videos on your iPhone or iPad (WMV, AVI etc)
Open natively unsupported video attachments from emails/internet
Open natively unsupported videos from other apps, like Dropbox
VLC also allows you to sync your favourite videos to your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad without having the need to convert them.
Free - iTunes link, thanks to everyone who sent this in!
You have a Motorola Milestone ? You are patient ?
If yes you probably would be running the Android 2.1 Eclair built on your device still , because Motorola has still not outed the Froyo love . But at least we know it’s coming. And, sure enough, the European side of the company has taken some steps to show off the test build for the device, and show them off.
Details are still on the way , so have a look at these images until we come across few more . But possibly you can expect an updated keyboard with Swype support .
Windows Smartphones are loosing the demand these days after the ‘iPhone’ and ‘Android’ thinge and the effort Microsoft is putting in to push their OS in the market is grabbing the attention of geeks . Its not too long Microsoft unveiled their Windows 7 series phones and it was Dell’s Venue Pro which grabbed the attention of geeks more than others did , perhaps its because of its the beautiful looks , a superb screen or the portrait physical keyboard which the 4.1″ screen hides underneath will soon be coming with Android OS .
Plenty of people want it though they don’t want the Windows Phone 7 . The best part is Dell has plans to launch this device in future with Android OS and this would be delighting the Android geeks who don’t love turning their Milestone/Droid every time they shoot texts to their buddies .According to a new report from PCWorld, Dell is indeed planning on launching another version of the Venue Pro. It will have the same body and looks, and apparently will resemble the Venue Pro in just about every way — other than the mobile Operating System , but it will feature the same 1Ghz processor , and 4.1″ touchscreen display. As of now Dell hasn’t revealed the launch dates neither do we have a word on the version of Android it will carry . But Dell needs to change its outdated OS packaging policies like it did with the Streak . Lets hope for some ginger chicken or ginger bread .
The rumors of the MyTouch HD have been circling the air for a while and now its time for some leaks from the T-mobile . Below is a screenshot of a mail sent by T-mobile to a retail store .
The T-mobile myTouch HD will launch 3rd November , as per the T-mobile’s mail .
Third party retailers have been bragging about the G2 since weeks while T-mobile was silent on this . But recently few T-mobile customers have reported that the G2 was seen on online T-mobile site with an exciting label: “Pre-ordering starts soon!”.
No exact dates declared , but according to recent speculation October 16th may be the release date , while Best Buy has plans to out the device by 6th October for a price tag of $200 with contract , and RadioShack is offering a $50 off on expected contract price , sounds cool .
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