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Samsung unveils Galaxy Tab 2, Ice Cream Sandwich and all

Don Reisinger — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:31:17 PST

Samsung's new Galaxy Tab 2.

(Credit: Samsung)

Samsung has announced the follow-up to its 7-inch Galaxy Tab.

Dubbed the Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), the 7-inch tablet sports Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and a 1GHz dual-core processor. The Galaxy Tab 2 will come with both 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

On the software side, Samsung's upcoming tablet will ship with its Hub services, including Music Hub to access over 17 million tracks, and Readers Hub for acquiring e-books. The offering will also come with Video Hub, which Samsung says, will allow users to rent or buy over 1,000 films.

A Windows 8 tablet offers hope as potent iPad foe

Brooke Crothers — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:00:00 PST

A Windows 8 Metro screen showing Microsoft Office 15 applications. Having a full version of Office on a tablet may be Microsoft's trump card.

(Credit: Microsoft)

With Windows 8 now on a clearer path to release, expect the big device makers to try to crash the raucous Apple party with Microsoft leading the way.

Whither Android? So far, the only Android tablet supplier to come close to busting up the nonstop iPad festivities is Amazon.

That's high irony. Amazon is hardly a hardware company. And certainly a far cry from the likes of Motorola, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Samsung, and Asus. All of which have failed to come up with a blockbuster Android alternative to the iPad. (Samsung and Asus have had limited success, but nothing that rivals the iPad in numbers.)

Here's what Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore said this week in a research note below a heading entitled "No iPad-killer in this bunch."

Analyst unsure about Android: "In the past 12 months, the tablet market has been flooded with a slew of Android-based devices; none of which have matched the success of the iPad. From a hardware perspective, it is clear most offerings are 'me-too' with little to no differentiation."

Whitmore continues. "We continue to believe these Android-based 'iPad-killers' will fall short. Many [device makers] seem to agree and are shifting their efforts on Win8 based tablets, which shoul... [Read more]

Best Android alternatives to iPod Touch

Donald Bell — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:44:00 PST

The iPod wars still quietly rage.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Smartphones and tablets grab all the attention these days. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that Apple's iPod sales still rake in millions year after year.

Portable media players like the iPod Touch will eventually die out, but there's still plenty of interest in the category, and money to be made by chasing after consumers who don't feel the iPod fits their needs.

As so it is that a product category we wrote off as a casualty of our national obsession with smartphones rises once more. The following list contains four Android-based portable media players that take aim directly against the Apple iPod Touch. Many promise bigger screens, GPS, and all of the geeky conveniences that Android in known for.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 towers over the iPod Touch with its 5-inch screen.

(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)

Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0You know what's better than a 3.5-inch screen? How about a 5-inch screen? [Read more]

Presumed Droid Incredible 3 spied in wild

Scott Webster — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:41:22 PST

Unfortunately, this model looks much like every other HTC Android of late.

(Credit: PhoneArena)

For a company that's expected to take a more cautious approach in the new year, HTC appears to have plenty of unannounced products in the pipeline.

Today sees yet another smartphone finding its way into the wild, this time in the form of an LTE-ready model with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

PhoneArena has obtained a number of images and details for what appears to be a direct successor to Verizon's Droid Incredible 2. The blog's source advises that the hardware includes a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM, 8-megapixel camera, and support for Verizon's 4G LTE network. In terms of software, the smartphone is said to run Android 4.0.1 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC's Sense 4.0 user interface.

Unsubscribe from junk mail with PaperKarma

Jason Cipriani — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:27:04 PST

According to PaperKarma, the average U.S. household receives 850 pieces of junk mail each year. That's a ton of wasted paper.

PaperKarma, a multiplatform mobile app, allows you to snap a picture of the junk mail sitting on your counter, upload it, and never worry about receiving anything from that company again. It couldn't be easier.

You will need to create an account with PaperKarma, handing over some personal information such as a phone number and the address you're receiving junk mail at. After the initial setup, the process to submit a request is all of two steps.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

Take a picture of the offending mail. You don't need to include any of your personal information in the picture, but make sure the company information is clearly visible.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

Submit the picture to PaperKarma. From here, you will see the request as pending until you have successfully been unsubscribed.

After submitting a picture to PaperKarma, it will send an unsubscribe request to the company in the picture. Once the request has been processed, you will receive an alert on your device letting you know you have been unsubscribed.

The app is available for iOS, ... [Read more]

Schedule 'happy birthday' posts to Facebook friends

Nicole Cozma — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:23:49 PST

Nobody likes to be that person who forgets a friend's birthday.

Facebook is great for avoiding awkward moments like these, but sometimes having a notice on Facebook about a birthday isn't enough. After all, getting a daily reminder of your brother's birthday a week in advance might make you forget about it by the time his big day arrives; or you may not even log on to Facebook to see the reminder. Luckily for Android users, there's an app that can post a birthday message for your Facebook friends automatically. So if you forget, or just get busy and don't get to it, your friends won't feel forgotten. Here's how to set it up.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 1: Download Birthday Scheduler for Fb Lite from the Android Market.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 2: On the first run of the app, you will have to enter your Facebook credentials and allow the app access to your Friend List.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 3: For each friend you'd like to set up this service for, click the + symbol next to the name.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 4: Click on the pencil icon to open the customization options for that ... [Read more]

Apple, Samsung own 95 percent of all mobile phone profits

Lance Whitney — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:01:39 PST

(Credit: Samsung,Apple)

Apple and Samsung together hoovered up more than 95 percent of mobile phone profits last quarter, leaving little left for other players, says Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley.

Actually, there wasn't a whole lot left for Samsung, either, once Apple was done with things.

With strong demand for the iPhone 4S, Apple alone took home around 80 percent of all mobile phone profits in the fourth quarter, up from just 56 percent in the third quarter, according to the analyst. Yet the company holds just 8.1 percent of the global mobile phone market.

At the same time, Samsung's share of industry profits shrank to 15 percent from 26 percent, but its share of Android customers jumped to 39 percent from 35 percent.

For the quarter, Apple sold 37 million iPhones, helping it ring up overall earnings of $13 billion. Samsung didn't reveal how many smartphones it sold, but one analyst pegged the number as high as 35 million.

Apple and Samsung spent the better part of 2011 battling each other for the top crown. C... [Read more]

Acer CloudMobile Ice Cream Sandwich phone ready for MWC

Jessica Dolcourt — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:52:35 PST

Acer plans to launch its CloudSmart Android Ice Cream Sandwich phone at MWC 2012.

Well, well, well. Acer has already won an award for a phone that few in the mobile industry knew existed.

The electronics maker issued a press release today sharing its iF design award for the Acer CloudMobile, an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone that the company plans to launch later this month at Mobile World Congress.

Although it'll pack Android's newest operating system, Acer isn't positioning the CloudMobile device as just another Android phone. Instead, expect to hear a pitch about securely grabbing personal information through AcerCloud, an online home for photos, music, and documents shared by your Acer PCs, tablets, and phones.

Acer didn't reveal more details about the hardware itself, but according to Pocket-lint, it's expected to sport a 4.3-inch HD display, 10mm thick profile (0.4 inch), and Dolby sound. Acer does note that it'll be released in Q3, but didn't share which countries would see its first AcerCloud-compatible smartphone.

(Via Pocket-lint, ... [Read more]

Latest Google Wallet hack picks your pocket

Lance Whitney — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:25:28 PST

Google Wallet hit by another hack.
(Credit: CNET/Marguerite Reardon)
Google Wallet users might be wise to start getting a little nervous.

Yesterday, researchers outlined a complicated way to crack the Google Wallet PIN used to make purchases with the smartphone-based payment system. Now there's a new hack that could let a stranger gain access to the funds of Wallet users.

Described yesterday by blogging site The Smartphone Champ, the hack doesn't require extra software, root access, or any particular skills in general.

Instead, all someone apparently has to do it clear the data for the Google Wallet app in the smartphone's application settings menu. The app is then reset and will prompt the person to enter a new PIN the next time it launches. Since the Google Wallet information is linked to the device and not to the actual account, a person can then use the Google prepaid card already tied to the device to gain full access to the owner's funds, explained The Smartphone Champ.

Related stories

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Apps Builder helps repackage Web sites as mobile apps

Stephen Shankland — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:07:23 PST

Apps Builder lets people create basic apps that will run on multiple mobile devices as well as on the Web.
(Credit: Apps Builder)
In the battle between native apps and Web sites, an Italian startup called Apps Builder wants to help those on the Web side defect to the enemy.
The company offers a subscription-based Web service that converts Web sites into mobile applications. Last month it added Windows Phone app support to its earlier options--iOS, Android, HTML-based Web apps, and Chrome Web apps. And it's seeing some significant usage of its service.
Specifically, the company just passed the milestone of 20,000 apps developed through Apps Builder, and those apps have been downloaded a million times from their various app stores, said Chief Financial Officer Alessandro Perrone.
The tool costs $19 per application per month for the basic service, $49 per application per month for the advanced service, or $799 per application per year for the professional service in which the company does the app migration itself.
There's also a free version that creates only a Web-app version of the app; it also includes a banner touting the company that's removed for the paid versions.

Related stories

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Apple snatches a victory in Motorola patent wars

Lance Whitney — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:39:45 PST

Apple has finally scored a win in its never-ending patent battles with Motorola Mobility.

A German judge today found that the iPhone maker did not infringe on a Motorola patent related to wireless technology, according to Florian Mueller's Foss Patents legal blog.

The patent in question covers 3G/UMTS wireless communications and in tech jargon refers to a "method and system for generating a complex pseudonoise sequence for processing a code division multiple access [CDMA] signal."

Motorola had argued that any use of 3G/UMTS by Apple would violate the patent. But Judge Andreas Voss was unconvinced, finding that Motorola failed to provide evidence that any Apple products had adopted the specific invention either through hardware or software code.

"Since the asserted patent claim is centered around the 'means' used to generate a number that optimizes wireless transmissions, the court would have wanted to see proof that Apple's products contain such 'means,'" explained Mueller. "[Motorola Mobility] didn't show any kind of actual implementation (neither hardware nor software), and arguing merely on the basis of the specifications of the standard was insufficient to win."
... [Read more]

HTC further details Ice Cream Sandwich for select devices

Scott Webster — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:11:03 PST

HTC has once again taken to Facebook to shed light on Android 4.0 updates for its line of smartphones.

The company has added three handsets, the HTC Incredible S, HTC Desire S, and HTC Desire HD, to the list of devices expected to see Ice Cream Sandwich in 2012. These will join other notable smartphones such as the HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Evo 3D, and HTC Rezound in getting 4.0 "later this year."

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... [Read more]

A better Android app for hands-free text messaging

Rick Broida — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:03:23 PST

We all know texting while driving is a deadly combination, yet who can resist the siren song of that new-message ding? I'll admit it's tough not to steal a glance at the phone--and once you're glancing, you're reading.

Most owners of Android-powered smartphones know about Google Voice Actions, which, among other things, allows you to dictate text messages using just your voice.

However, there's still a bit of screen interaction required, as you have to find and tap the microphone to engage Voice Actions. And what about messages you receive? There's no hands-free help there.

Sonalight's Text by Voice offers hands-free text messaging--both sending and receiving.
(Credit: Sonalight)
Enter Text by Voice, an admirably effective app that makes texting a totally hands-free experience. With it you can send and listen to messages without so much as touching your phone. It's entirely voice-powered.

As the above demonstration video, er, demonstrates, Text by Voice requires zero interaction with your phone (save fo... [Read more]

RIM will trade you a free PlayBook for an Android app

Eric Mack — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:58:54 PST

Take one, please!
(Credit: RIM)
Lately, Research In Motion has seemed determined to push out more of the BlackBerry PlayBooks it has lying around, even if it means literally giving them away.

There are still a few days left on a special deal announced by RIM's developer relations head Alec Saunders via Twitter--the company is giving away a free 16GB PlayBook to every developer who converts their Android app to be compatible with and available for the PlayBook.
The Android app needs to be ported and submitted to BlackBerry App World prior to the February 13 deadline to get the free tablet.

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RIM cuts BlackBerry PlayBook prices again--but should you buy in?

RIM plays mythbuster, says app interest actually really high

RIM's trade-a-tablet-for-an-app scheme adds to an air of desperation that's surrounded the BlackBerry brand lately. Not only has the ... [Read more]

Amazon fires shot at iPad's screen glare, price in new Kindle ad

Don Reisinger — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:14:55 PST

Which tablet is best: Amazon's Kindle Fire or Apple's iPad?
(Credit: CNET)
Is the Amazon Kindle an iPad competitor? A new commercial makes Amazon's opinion clear.

Amazon tries to show the advantages its devices have over Apple's iPad. The commercial's setting--outdoors on a sunny day at a beautiful resort--helps illustrate the company's point that its Kindle e-reader lacks the screen glare found in Apple's iPad 2 in a similar setting. And when asked about the price of owning not one or two, but three Kindles, the woman who owns them in the ad says that "together, they're still less than that."

Amazon's Kindle Fire, which launched last year, immediately became a retail hit. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordon Rohan said last month that Amazon likely sold 6 million Kindle Fires during the fourth quarter, up from his initial estimate of 5 million Kindle Fire unit sales.

Despite those strong sales, they were no match for Apple's iPad 2. During the fourth quarter, Apple sold 15.43 million iPads, jumping 111 percent over the prior year.

Here's Amazon's new commercial:

[Read more]

iHome ships new, budget-friendly mini Bluetooth speakers

David Carnoy — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:36:00 PST

iHome's iDM11 retails for $69.99 and has speakerphone capabilities.
(Credit: iHome)
We saw iHome's new portable Bluetooth speakers last month at CES, and both models, the iDM8 and iDM11, looked pretty nice.
They're shipping now and available for $59.99 and $69.99, respectively.

The iDM8 comes in red and black for $59.99 (click to enlarge).
(Credit: iHome)
The spherical iDM8, which comes in black as well (for some reason iHome's only showing the red version on its Web site), seems to be the more travel- and bag-friendly. But, as you can see from the specs, the iDM11 has a built-in microphone and speakerphone capabilities, a plus.
(Credit: iHome)
(Credit: iHome)
We'll let you know how both models sound when we get our hands on review samples. ... [Read more]

Revised Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 cleared for sale in Germany

Don Reisinger — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:21:07 PST

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1N is on sale in Germany.
(Credit: Samsung)
Another day, another German court ruling over whether Samsung can sell a device within the country's borders.

Earlier today, a court in Dusseldorf ruled that Samsung could sell its Galaxy Tab 10.1N in Germany, rebuffing calls by Apple to ban the device from sale because of patent infringement. The court told the companies, according to Reuters, which was in attendance at the hearing, that there were "clear differences" between the Galaxy Tab 10.1N and the iPad.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1N should be not be confused with the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The "N" model is a revision Samsung brought to Germany late last year after a court banned the Galaxy Tab 10.1 from store shelves, citing patent infringement. Despite the Galaxy Tab 10.1N's revisions, Apple said that it was still infringing on its patents and wanted that device to be banned, as well.

Today's bad news for Apple comes just a little over a week after the company celebrated the German Higher Regional Court's decision to uphold a Galaxy Tab 10.1 ban. The court said that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 8.9 should be banned from sale in the country, as well.

Rela... [Read more]

Plenty of new phones could land in Barcelona

Kent German — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:07:26 PST

Mobile World Congress begins Monday, February 27 in Barcelona, Spain.
(Credit: Kent German/CNET)
Though last month's CES offered plenty of mobile news, committed wireless watchers know that the annual Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona is the smartphone and tablet jackpot.

This year, the fun begins on February 27 with a full afternoon of press conferences coming the day before. And though a possible transit strike is threatening to muck up the logistics of an already logistically challenged event, we're already reveling in a flood of rumors as to what devices might make their debut. Yes, some of this gossip may not pan out, but you can bet that the four days on the Mediterranean will be full. Now follow along as we round up the rumors from the major players.

HTC's MWC press invite
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)
HTC The Taiwanese giant is holding a formal event to in... [Read more]

Motorola Droid 4 hands-on: Awesome keyboard, blistering 4G LTE

Brian Bennett — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:47:58 PST

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
If you're aching to get your hands on Motorola's new Droid 4, at least vicariously, you're in luck.

My official review sample has arrived and here's what I think so far.

Motorola Droid 4 (photos)
1-2 of 17 Scroll Left Scroll Right

At CES earlier this year, Motorola dropped a trio of new Verizon handsets offering welcome ... [Read more]

Nvidia all but confirms quad-core phones for MWC

Jessica Dolcourt — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:16:48 PST

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)
Nvidia is one company that isn't being meek about its wares. Instead, its press invitation to Mobile World Congress shouts "quad-core" from the rooftops.

The chip-maker is properly veiling the actual products powered by its Tegra 3 processor, instead proclaiming that "quad-core firsts continue at MWC." Since the first "first" was a quad-core tablet, it doesn't take much deductive power to reason out that this show will spotlight smartphones.

So far HTC, Sony, Huawei, and Nokia have set up press conferences. It's a good guess that Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 chip could power one from HTC's brood, like the HTC Edge.

CNET will be in Barcelona feverishly covering smartphones, tablets, and more, so stay tuned!

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