Sony Ericsson Xperia Nozomi LT26i leaks in live pictures

It's been a good five months since the first time we heard a rumor about a dual-core handset by Sony Ericsson.
By the time the Nozomi name popped up in late August, we were seriously anxious to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Android powerhouse.
Well, folks, here it is - after months of expectation, we have the first live shots of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Nozomi LT26i out in the wild and, boy, it looks like it has been well worth the long wait.



In terms of specs, not much is known at the moment. The smartphone is rumored to pack a dual--core CPU, clocked at 1.5GHz and a gig of RAM. The device's 4.3" screen is bound to be a thing of beauty with its 1280x720 pixels resolution. We still don't know the capability of the camera units of the Nozomi.
As you can notice in the pictures above, the device in the leaked shots is running Android 2.3.5
Gingerbread.
Given the phone's design however (the hardware buttons can be barely seen on the device), don't be surprised if you see it ship with Ice Cream Sandwich on board.

HTC plots a new tablet, revenue drops in October as iPhone effect strikes

HTC was recently ranked the number one smartphone maker by shipment volumes in the States eclipsing Apple and Samsung in the third quarter, but in October heaps of new products rolled out and among them the iPhone 4S, which eventually lead to a decline in HTC's global revenue for the month. The company recorded one of its rare drops in revenues, which stood at $1.46 billion, down 2.8% on the month.

Even though, HTC didn't directly point a finger at the iPhone, implicitly it was clear that the company expected the iPhone effect to hit it in October. One evidence for that it the fact that the Taiwanese lowered their Holiday quarter forecast while usually sales are the strongest then.

The company is offering high-end models across major US carriers, with the latest additions being the 4.3-inch 720p HTC Rezound, coming with a dual-core processor and all Android guts. The HTC Vivid is another heavyweight recently released by the company and it also offers the best of Android in a rectangular package and with a dual-core processor.

But the company is plotting a comeback in tablets, with a new slate expected to be launched next year. "It's a market we would like to try and test, to see whether we can make ourselves stand out and prevent a me-too product," CEO Peter Chou said.

iOS 5 Supports Panorama Picture Mode, Needs Jailbreak

Back in June there were several reports about iOS 5 getting features to allow for panoramic picture capturing and some hackers have already managed to enable the functionality by altering values inside the iOS SDK.

The developer who discovered the tweak has already submitted it to Cydia and should be available later on today for everyone with jailbroken iOS 5 to capture panoramas. The principle is very easy: you will snap a panorama by capturing photos from left to right. The image above shows the feature enabled in action, as well as how it looks inside the Camera app.

SIM-free Nokia Lumia 800 delayed until 2012

With the November 16th UK release data of the Nokia Lumia 800 fast approaching, UK-based Internet retailer, Clove Technology, stated in its blog today that the SIM-free version of the handset will be delayed until January 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 800, the first Windows Phone from Nokia, is the company’s flagship phone that is shipping with Windows Phone Mango. The handset has already seen great pre-order sales, including reports of it taking the top spot at The Phone House in France. Clove Technology also stated in its blog that it has been seeing massive interest in the handset from consumers.

Customers that have already pre-ordered a SIM-free version of the Lumia 800, should expect to receive email notification of the delay very soon. The traditional, locked version with a contract is expected to arrive on schedule. A release date for the US is still not available, but is anticipated for early 2012 – possibly around the same time as the delayed SIM-free version.

Motorola RAZR Water Resistant Test

Motorola RAZR now available in the UK, US is next

If you have been waiting for a sleek and powerful droid with a touch of Kevlar to hit the shelves, it's time to take out the checkbooks. The Motorola RAZR has just become available in the UK stores and you can get one right away.
The unlocked version of the smartphone costs about £455 after taxes, which seems about right for the kind of package you get.
If the SIM-free price is too steep for you, you may want to wait for O2 to release the Motorola RAZR later this month. The carrier will gladly subsidize the handset for you as long as you agree to sign a long-term deal.


It's yet unclear if the other major UK networks will be launching the Motorola RAZR, but it seems unlikely that they will miss on the hot droid.
The wait is almost over for our US friends too. Verizon said that it will be releasing the CDMA-loving DROID RAZR on November 11 at 11:11 AM
You can also pre-order the phone right now from Verizon's website. The phone will cost you $299 on a two-year contract and $649 without. If you pre-order you will even get the phone a day in advance, on November 10.

Motorola will get Android on a par with other companies

Google CEO Eric Schmidt (Eric Schmidt), during his tour of Asia, made ​​a statement that Motorola is not simply a division Google, and will continue to work independently.
This was previously reported, when, after a deal to acquire Motorola, Google representatives especially emphasized that the independence of the handset manufacturer and tablets continue.

However, now there are rumors that the company will have some preferences that will allow her to beat the competition, producing products based on operating system Android. "Basically, for our partners, we have already reported that a deal to acquire Motorola will be closed and we will work adequately on their own, so that it touches not open Android ... We are not going to materially change how we work, "- said Eric Schmidt, speaking in South Korea.


In many ways, this repetition has previously articulated position, it was done in order to reassure the representatives of South Korean manufacturers, including Samsung and LG have made ​​a significant bet on Android-Android-Smartphones and tablets.
Words chapters Google confirmed and Ruth Hennigar (Ruth Hennigar), occupying the post Vice President of Software Development, which stated that Motorola still has not received the source code version of Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

This means that it is not an exception and can no longer undertake the development of devices based on this operating system. Consequently, the first device with Ice Cream Sandwich by Motorola will appear in up to six months.
This situation certainly should reassure the representatives of companies that rely on sales of Android-devices, but hardly pleased with the holders of units of the American company, as named Ruth Hennigar term means that upgrades to new versions of the operating system will emerge only slowly.

iOS and Android are rapidly taking over the portable gaming market

Since the inception of mobile gaming, Nintendo has been a dominant player in the market with multiple incarnations of its Gameboy and DS series. Late-arriver, Sony, also managed to garner success with the introduction of its PlayStation Portable, or PSP. It seemed unlikely that another player could even hope to rival these two giants, let alone significantly reduce their market share.





iOS and Android have done just that. Traditionally portable gaming software revenue was fueled by physical game purchases, often in the form of a cartridge or a UMD, for around $40 a piece. Now, that revenue stream is also being powered by digital downloads. Both Android and iOS offer a significant amount of high-quality, premium games for $0.99 as well as games which are distributed using the ‘freemium’ model, which is when a game is free to download but offers in-app upgrades and purchases for additional content.

Flurry, a mobile applications analytics company, released a report today that shows the distribution of U.S. portable game software revenue over the last three years. Even though iOS and Android games typically cost much less from a price per unit standpoint, they have managed to expand from comprising 19% of the revenue in 2009 to a whopping 58% in 2011. Conversely, Sony and Nintendo have dropped from 11% and 70% in 2009 to 6% and 36% in 2011, respectively.

This dramatic shift in revenue source has caused some to question whether or not Sony and Nintendo can remain viable in this space at all. Despite including a 3DS store with its latest portable system for digital downloads, poor sales caused the manufacturer to slash the retail price of the 3DS and now Nintendo is anticipating posting their first fiscal year loss in over 30 years. The PlayStation Vita, which is set to be released in the U.S. on February 22, 2012, will feature a reduced rate, digital download option for all of its retail games.

It is not all doom and gloom for these two companies. While the hardware and software distribution models seem to be failing, there is still a lot of interest and desire to play games that feature IPs from both companies. Only time will tell if classic franchises such as Mario, Zelda, God of War, and Uncharted, to name a few, will eventually make their way to Android and iOS devices or if Nintendo and Sony will continue to manufacture hardware and release IPs exclusively to their own devices.

Nokia limits sales of its Lumia 800

Nokia has confirmed that it is allowing only selected partners to sell its Lumia 800 smartphone.
Nokia has confirmed with THE INQUIRER that only Vodafone, Three, Orange and T-Mobile will sell the handset among mobile operators in UK.

The only retailers to get Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 7.5 smartphone will be The Carphone Warehouse and Phones 4U, which will sell it SIM-free as well as on contract.

All other retailers including big names like Amazon will have to wait until next year to sell the device SIM-free. Online retailer Clove said that its stock has been delayed until January 2012.

Clove said, "It's bad news on the Nokia front this afternoon unfortunately. We can now confirm that the Nokia Lumia 800 will not be available SIM-free in the UK until January 2012, although it will still be launched in the UK on November 16th with a contract and will be available from selected stores."
Mark Squires, communications director at Nokia told us, "The fact is though that the vast majority of the operators and major high street retailers have taken up the product and are throwing their support behind it. Therefore we are making sure that by using these channels the Lumia 800 will be available to our customers in the widest variety of outlets from SIM free to contract. We have also worked extensively to train these channels to support the product. From Q1 next year we will be supplying the product to our wider UK distribution network."

The handset is Nokia's first Windows Phone 7.5 device and the firm is due to launch it next week on 16 November. We wonder what impact forcing consumers to go to only a handful of retailers might have on sales.

This comes as a disappointment to smaller retailers such as Clove, which told us, "Very frustrating, we've had loads of interest!"

We asked if Nokia is confident that the phone will sell well even though it is limited to a handful of retailers. Squires said, "Yes. The most important thing is that folk who go to purchase in person can clearly see the differences and capabilities of what they are buying. Anyone who wants a Lumia will find it online and in store at a wide variety of price points and bundles very easily."

ARM announces its new Mali-T658 GPU, Samsung signs up for 10x the Exynos performance

We know that ARM-based processors are unbeatable in the power consumption/performance ratio that is so important for mobile device, that is why there is barely a smartphone or tablet out there that is not powered by some ARM licensee, be it Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Samsung or Texas Instruments.

As far as graphics go, however, ARM processors had to be paired with 3rd party GPUs in order to achieve an outstanding performance. Apple and TI, for example, use PowerVR GPUs, which are arguably the fastest out there, NVIDIA pairs Tegra with its mobile GeForce creation, whereas Samsung is using the stock ARM GPU architecture called Mali, in its Mali-400 version in the Samsung Galaxy S II with Exynos.

The ever restless chip designers at ARM, however, are determined to conquer that last bastion of performance for a full mobile bliss of their licensees, announcing the ARM Mali-T658, which promises 10x the performance of Mali-400 in the first Exynos. It is also specifically developed to work with the upcoming Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 families, which, combined in a big.LITTLE configuration, are expected to revolutionize the power/performance/price ratio once again come the next generation of chipsets.

A few companies have already signed up for the Mali-T658 monster, Samsung, Fujitsu and LG are among them. For the second version of Exynos Samsung promises up to 5x the graphics performance of the first edition, so it's more likely that it will be using Mali T-604, which was the previous best GPU architecture of ARM until T658 got announced.

It is more likely that we'll see Cortex-A15 products with Mali-T658 in 2013, rather than next year, but you never know with these accelerated development cycles nowadays. Samsung did promises a big.LITTLE Exynos to be developed in 2012, so Mali T-658 seems ripe to get in there too. Watch the T658 promo video below.

HTC Ville smartphone breaks cover

A head of steam is building up for HTC as we approach 2012, with the HTC Edge already detailed and now the HTC Ville smartphone breaking cover. The latter sounds like it might tick plenty of the style and feature boxes too.

BGR has the scoop, including an image, although that doesn't exactly show a great deal. Thankfully, the details are a little more indicative of what's to come. They also have a launch date, said to be April, when the company will also show off the latest version of Sense (4.0), which is featured on the Ville.

As for features, well Google's latest incarnation of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, is obviously here, along with a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon Series 4 processor, Beats Audio processing and an eight-megapixel backside-illuminated camera (like the previously-mentioned HTC Edge) that also shoots 1080p HD video. On the downside, it won’t feature NFC 'due to the metal construction of the case'. Talking of the case, it's said to be less than 8mm thick, which is thinner than an iPhone.

No plans for Siri to appear on iPhone 4

Siri running on iPhone 4S

There are certainly mixed messages when it comes to Siri, which has led to debate as to whether Apple will offer it to iPhone 4 users in a future update. That possibility looks a lot less likely now.

On his blog, Michael Steeber said he has been contacted by someone who had, in turn, contacted Apple with a bug report, suggesting a different build of iOS with Siri included. The voice search feature bundled in as part of a paid upgrade. Not a bad idea to be honest.

Apple's reply was brief, but to the point: 'Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue: Siri only works on iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices.'

That's interesting for a couple of reasons. The bottom line is that Apple isn't working on porting Siri to older phones or at least, has tried and failed. However, last week, there was a report from a 'source' claiming Apple was testing Siri on an iPhone 4, with 'special software' running on phones that include Siri already. This certainly runs counter to the new Apple statement.

However, even with limited resources, Siri was ported to the iPhone 4 by developer Steven Troughton-Smith, working alongside the 9to5Mac site. It didn't work perfectly, but that was down to access to Apple's servers rather than hardware limitations. In short, Siri could work on an older phone.

The reason why Siri isn't coming to the iPhone 4S is probably down to commercial, rather than technical reasons. Siri is a stand-out feature for the iPhone 4S, alongside a better camera and processor. Offer Siri to all existing iPhone users and you've just lost a considerable number of upgrades. Yes, it might well work on an iPhone 4, but even if it charged a modest fee, it wouldn't necessarily be an astute move for Apple's bank balance.

PayPal for Android updated to version 3.0

PayPal for Android has gotten a major update, bringing the app to version 3.0. The app is definitely a must for anyone who uses PayPal with any regularity, and now it's got some nice improvements to make your mobile PayPal management easier. 

The big change in 3.0 is an overhaul of the app UI, which makes it easier to navigate the app and get to specific features. A more hyped feature, but not as useful right now, is the addition of NFC support. This could definitely become a great feature in the future, but given that there are only a few NFC-enabled Android handsets right now, it doesn't add a whole lot. If you are lucky enough to have NFC on your phone, you'll be able to request money from another user through the PayPal widget. 

Version 3.0 also adds Honeycomb tablet support, though the UI is not exactly optimized for the bigger screens, but it will work. There is also "Enhanced feature support" for the EU, Asia-Pacific regions, and Latin American regions.

DROID RAZR System App Dump

If the boot animation and wallpapers weren’t enough to satisfy your DROID RAZR hunger, then check out the download link below for the full system app dump. We will be digging deeply into it to see if any of the new apps from it work on devices like the Bionic, but won’t be holding our breath. The RAZR runs an even newer version of Blur, so there is no telling what will work and what won’t. The new Netflix from this device is supposed to be the first to run HD movies though

How To Get Spotify for Windows Phone Now

Yes, we know that Spotify is coming to Windows Phone today and it should be up in the Marketplace later in the day but for those who just can't wait to listen to their favorite tunes on Windows Phone, here's how to grab the app.

All you have to do is point your Windows Phone to this Marketplace link and you will be able to download the free application. After you log in with your credentials (given you're a Premium user) you will be able to stream music, pin items to your Start screen and even control playback a-la Zune from the Lock Screen.

Galaxy Nexus Training Material Shows Up At Verizon

Verizon Wireless employees have begun receiving emails containing training material and comparison sheets about the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The documents don’t unveil any sort of release dates but Verizon made it loud and clear that they are the exclusive launch partner of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE. Yeah, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE.

Does this mean Verizon will have dibs on the 4G LTE model while everyone else (in the U.S.) makes due with the 3G/HSPA+ model? When Google announced the Galaxy Nexus they did emphasize the fact they would launch separate models for LTE and HSPA+. Only time will tell, but hopefully this means we are getting closer to an official release date announcement.

HTC details Ice Cream Sandwich plans for Rezound, EVO 3D, Sensation and more

HTC recently confirmed that a number of its handsets will receive an update to Google’s latest Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system. The company said that it will upgrade the Vivid, Sensation, Sensation XL and Sensation XE in “early 2012.” It will also push Android 4.0 to the Rezound, EVO 3D, EVO Design 4G and Amaze 4G through “close integration with [HTC's] carrier partners.” We expect that the rollout will vary by carrier, however, so it is unlikely that each of the aforementioned phones will receive the update at the same time. Here’s the full statement from HTC:

HTC knows how excited our fans are to get their hands on Google’s latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, so we’re thrilled today to announce the first wave of HTC phones that will receive upgrades: We can confirm the brand new HTC Vivid is upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich. In addition, Ice Cream Sandwich is coming in early 2012 to a variety of devices including the HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XL and HTC Sensation XE, as well as the HTC Rezound, HTC EVO 3D, HTC EVO Design 4G and HTC Amaze 4G through close integration with our carrier partners. We’re continuing to assess our product portfolio, so stay tuned for more updates on device upgrades, timing and other details about HTC and Ice Cream Sandwich.

News Galaxy Nexus to be priced at $289 at Costco

A leaked picture of Costco's inventory screen reveals plans to launch the Galaxy Nexus in the US. The device will be sold for $289.99 on a two year contract. The pricing is bit on the higher side but is on par with the other high-end LTE devices from Verizon.


No details regarding the availability on the other carriers in the US or whether the device will be available on other carriers at all.

Gingerbread is now the dominant Android version

  Android 2.3.x has slowly caught up with updates arriving on most contemporary handsets and now it has become the most popular version of Google's platform. Android 2.3.x devices make up 44.4% of all gadgets running the green robot as their OS, with Froyo starting to quickly fade away. Currently, 2.2 devices account for 40.7% of all Androids.

 

 

 

 

 

With Gingerbread and Froyo being the most popular versions, it should be noted that there's still a 10.7% share of Androids running Eclair. 

 

Older versions have largely been phased out and Honeycomb remains pretty unpopular with a total share of just 1.9%.

What everyone is looking forward to, though, is a clear statement from manufacturers regarding an update to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The new version of the platform aims to unite tablets and phones under one platform. Given that Gingerbread is a relatively new version, though, the current stats hint that Google has really taken the steps to eliminate fragmentation. Here's to hoping it will succeed.

Apple security chief turns in his badge as scapegoat of the missing Apple iPhone 4S affair

Apple security chief John Theriault has turned in his badge and is leaving the Cupertino based firm. That much is known. What is in dispute is the reason behind Theriault's departure. Some attribute Theriault's departure to his desire to take early retirement while others place the blame squarely on the bungled investigation of the allegedly missing Apple iPhone 4S during the summer.

Jon Paczkowski of AllThingsD confirmed on Friday that Theriault had left Apple and his sources told him that it was the screwed-up investigation of the missing Apple iPhone 4S prototype that led to Theriault's decision to leave Apple. A former FBI agent (G-man to you old timers), Theriault worked at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer where he helped stopped the sale of counterfeit Viagra that had popped up in Asia. It was precisely this experience in handling investigations of knock-off items that led Theriault to Cupertino where he was expected to handle counterfeit Apple products.

One night this summer, an Apple employee had supposedly left the next-generation Apple iPhone prototype at the Cava22 bar in San Francisco. Apple security got in touch with the SFPD. Apple had tracked down the wayward handset to a home and plainclothes police offices accompanied Apple investigators to this home. The cops waited outside while Apple's security members conducted a search of the house, looking for the prototype.

This behavior has led to an internal investigation by the SFPD in regard to the search of the house, which belonged to a Sergio Calderon. Calderon says he was coerced by the cops into allowing two Apple investigators to search his home. Calderon thought that the men who entered his home were police officers or, as said, he never would have allowed the search. Defense attorneys have said that by not identifying the men making the search, it was probably unlawful.

After the prototype went missing, Apple posted a job listing seeking product security managers who would be responsible for "overseeing the protection of, and managing risks to, Apple's unreleased products and related intellectual property."

No one has ever claimed to have the missing Apple iPhone 4S prototype and at this point, with the phone already on the market, we probably will never find out the true and complete story.