Mobile Archives - Page 9 of 15

Google+ Updated On iOS With Completely New UI, Android App Update On It’s Way

Let’s face it, iOS users have been skimped on Google+ since the beginning. First they didn’t get an app, and when they did, it wasn’t exactly the most functional in the App Store. Google did, however, stick to Android by updating and improving the application often, frequently adding features and improving on the app. Heck, they’ve even overhauled the desktop site a few times without even touching the iOS app. Now, the iOS is the first to receive the Google+ update, and it’s a pretty hefty one.

Google has said in their blog that was posted with the update, that they are looking to make the Google+ mobile experience much simpler, and much more aesthetically pleasing. And, from using it so far, they have succeeded. The iOS app has received a complete UI refresh, bringing a very sleek black interface, but it’s a lighter black than we are used to. The photos have been enlarged, there’s less abstract colors, and it’s really starting to look like a professionally done, beautiful mobile application. The Google team had this to say about their mobile application improvements:

To be clear, we’re not interested in a mobile or social experience that’s just smaller. We’re embracing the sensor-rich smartphone (with its touchable screen and high-density display), and transforming Google+ into something more intimate, and more expressive. Today’s new iPhone app is an important step in this direction—toward a simpler, more beautiful Google.

On top of an amazing new UI, Google has also finally added the ability to join a Hangout via Messenger to the mobile G+ app for iOS. This feature has long been missed by iPhone users, and it is definitely a welcome feature. The Google+ team has also said that the Android app will, in fact, be updated as well to match the new mobile user interface. We’ll be sure to let you know when this update is released, and iOS users can grab the update now in the App Store.

Source: Google Blog

Sprint And Sierra Wireless Bring Nation’s First “Tri-Fi Hotspot” On May 18 For $99

The HTC Evo 4G LTE isn’t the only thing launching at Sprint on May 18. While Wi-Fi hotspotsaren’t exactly as big of news as the “true Evo successor,” this one is a little different from the rest. Sierra Wireless is launching their $99 Tri-Fi Hotspot on May 18, the first Wi-Fi hotspot ever to support 4G LTE, WiMax, and 3G. This hotspot will ensure that no matter where you live, you will still get Sprint coverage (that is, if you have Sprint coverage) like you would with your phone. The hotspot supports up to 8 different devices at one time, and also has an SD card slot for sharing documents and presentations and can even be used as a digital media server. This is definitely an ideal hotspot for a team of people looking to stay online and work together as seamlessly as possible.

Sprint and Sierra Wireless are bringing this device so people can still be productive with their hotspot after LTE gets to their area without having to go buy a brand new hardware unit. A $50 mail-in rebate is required to get to the $99 price tag, but after that is taken care of you have a pretty good deal when it comes to the hotspot itself. The plans are $35 for 3 GB of data, $50 for 6 GB of data, and $80 for 12 GB of data. With a 2-year agreement and a choice of one of these data plans, Sprint customers can pick up the world’s first Tri-Fi Hotspot on May 18 at their nearest Sprint location or online.

HTC And Sprint Announce Evo 4G LTE Is Coming May 18 For $199

The HTC Evo 4G LTE was announced to be launching on May 18 today at CTIA. HTC unveiled the device a few weeks back, starting preorders on May 7. The Evo 4G LTE is very similar to HTC’s One series of devices, and can definitely be considered as one in my book. The Evo name has been an important brand for Sprint, and that is most likely why they went with it instead of the One series branding.

The device is launching with Android 4.0 (ICS) with Sense 4 on top, meaning this device will be running the same software as the rest of the recently released HTC devices. The new Evo will have a 4.7″ display with a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor. A 1.3MP camera will be complementing the 8MP camera that is on the back, and HTC’s ImageSense software will also be on board so users can shoot great photography and edit it with the many included filters and effects. The Evo 4G LTE is the first device to launch on Sprint with full Beats Audio experience, and will definitely continue to be a multimedia powerhouse, complete with the infamous kickstand which we have come to know and love. The Evo 4G LTE does have an embedded battery, but thankfully it is a full 2000 mAh battery, meaning you should easily get a full day’s use out of it without many issues.

Sprint is calling the Evo 4G LTE the “true successor” to the original Evo, and we would definitely agree that it is more worthy of that title than the Evo 3D we saw last year at CTIA. Be sure to pick this device up at Sprint on May 18 for the price of $199.

Apple Pushes iOS 5.1.1 To iDevices, Fixes A Few Minor Issues

To anyone using an iDevice, Apple has pushed out a minor update today that will fix a few things and tweak some others. After users were reporting some AirPlay video playback issues and a few others things, it seems Apple deemed it necessary to release iOS 5.1.1. Another of the annoying bugs that were fixed was an “unable to purchase” message that would pop up even if users completed a successful purchase. This can obviously lead to some headaches, so iOS users will want to grab that update today. The iPad also received some attention, as there was an error with devices switching back and forth between 3G and 2G networks which has now been taken care of.

The update can be taken OTA or through your PC or Mac and is only 54.5MB. Of course, anyone with a jailbroken iPad, iPhone, or iPod will want to avoid this update and wait for the developer community to bring a jailbroken version to you. There’s a few other minor fixes and tweaks that have been pushed, and the full list of updates is as follows:

Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using Lock Screen shortcut.
Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks.
Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances.
Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List.
Fixes an issue where “Unable to Purchase” alert could be displayed after successful purchase.

Source: Apple

HTC One V Hitting The US This Summer, Still No Carrier Or Pricing Yet

Along with the HTC DROID Incredible 4G announcement today, HTC has also told us that their entry-level One V will be hitting the US this summer. As the cheapest and the smallest One series device, the Ove V probably won’t appeal to everyone, but it definitely brings a lot to the table just by running Android 4.0. The specs are pretty average, with a single-core 1 GHz processor and a 3.7″ screen, but Sense 4 and Ice Cream Sandwich give people a reason to pick the device up without a doubt.

The One V has a 5 MP camera coupled with HTC’s ImageSense software for beautiful shooting, and Beats by Dre brings a sound experience that only an HTC device can. HTC hasn’t announced which carriers will get this device or what the price will be, but it will most likely be lower than the competition, given that this device isn’t really considered “high-end.” Still, for the Legend-esque build and fantastic hardware, the HTC One V is definitely still a device to keep your eyes on. The HTC One V will be hitting the US this summer, though we still haven’t been given a specific carrier. On top of that, it really could be any carrier at this point, as HTC has already updated their device lineup for every major US carrier with the announcement of the Incredible 4G today. Be sure to check back with us for more updates on this device, the pricing, and where it will be headed when it hits the US this summer.

HTC And Verizon Announce The DROID Incredible 4G At CTIA

HTC and Verizon’s Incredible 4G has been leaked for quite a while now from pictures to specs, and today at CTIA in New Orleans the device was finally announced officially. The DROID Incredible series has been going strong on Verizon for a while now, and they have stayed true to the form factor with the 4G Incredible as well. The screen is still 4″, straying away from the larger phone trend that is taking over the market as of late, and also retaining the plateau-style back that we all have come to know and love on a DROID Incredible.

This Incredible 4G is the follow-up to the DROID Incredible 2, which was a 3G only device, and as far as specs go is a large hardware and software upgrade. This device isn’t likely going to replace everyone’s device on Verizon, but people who are die-hard Incredible fans or in search of a smaller screen may find themselves right at home with the Incredible 4G. The DROID Incredible 4G features, as I said earlier, a 4″ super LCD qHD display which is smaller than most devices available. The device also has received a processor bump to a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 with 1 GB of RAM, meaning it will likely run ICS at blazing fast speeds. Sense 4 will come on top of Android 4.0, bringing everything that we have seen from the One series on the software end of things. ImageSense will be complementing the device’s 8MP camera, and a standard VGA front facing camera is on board as well. Beats Audio will be bringing you all of the sound for the device, but sadly Beats headphones do not come with the purchase like they did withe the Rezound.

The biggest improvement on this device compared to the Incredible 2, however, is obviously the addition of 4G LTE, something that many will agree should have been present on the Incredible 2 in the first place. Hopefully the 1700 mAh battery will be able to sustain this device for a full day on LTE, and the smaller screen size may make up for what is a somewhat small battery size. HTC has also allowed for the removal of the battery on this device, so you may want to pick up a spare battery depending on the device’s battery life.

Samsung’s London Unpacked Event Brings Us The Long-Awaited Galaxy S III

Today in London, Samsung announced the latest addition the their ever-popular Galaxy line of devices. We were there live covering the whole event, as you may have seen from our liveblog, and Samsung really brought a lot of changes with the newly announced Galaxy S III–but don’t worry because in this case that’s a good thing. Samsung really hit the nail on the head last year with the Galaxy S II, and the device became their best selling phone line ever. This makes the follow-up to that, the GSIII, one of the most anticipated devices of the year, and as Samsung calls it, the most anticipated device in the last 20 years of Samsung’s products.

Samsung was clearly inspired by the success of the Galaxy Note, and you can see it in the sheer size of the GSIII. The device packs a HUGE 4.8-inch HD Super-AMOLED 720x1080p screen. And my friends, this is a beautiful screen. Last year the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung and Google was criticized by some for being too big with its 4.6-inch screen, but clearly this didn’t effect Samsung because they went even bigger on their next flagship device. They also brought the goods with a 1.4 GHz Samsung Exynos quad-core processor, the same one that was rumored to be with the device a few months ago. An 8MP camera on back with 720p shooting capabilities compliments a 1.6MP camera on the front for high quality video chatting. The battery capacity is 2100 mAh, larger than devices such as the HTC One X, and will likely be needed thanks to LTE being on board for these devices. Samsung stated that LTE and HSPA+ will be coming to the states via the GSIII, and we were all relieved to hear so as LTE is at this point the standard in the mobile world. Thankfully Samsung has kept the notification light, and two hardware buttons will be on the face of the device as well. The GSIII has rounded edges and overall a very rounded body similar to the Epic Touch 4G GSII variant for Sprint, and it makes the largeness of the screen a little less obvious when viewing the hardware of the device.

The Galaxy S III comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with an improved version of TouchWiz that Samsung dubbs “inspired by nature.” The lockscreen ripples when touched, and elements of wind and light effect the device when sliding through the homescreens or switching applications. Ice Cream Sandwich is still the obvious OS version, but Samsung has not attempted to “lighten” the presence of TouchWiz much at all, and much of it looks very similar. From the hands-on and videos shown however, the device runs very smoothly and TouchWiz doesn’t seem to be an issue at all. S Voice is basically Siri for the GSIII, and different functions will be able to be performed from that service as well as Google’s own preloaded voice commands. One other thing that we noticed on the software side of things however, is that Google Wallet is missing from the list of supported Google Mobile Services, and we have not yet heard from Samsung as to whether the GSIII will have Google Wallet at launch.

The Galaxy S III will be available in Europe by the end of May, and will roll out to the rest of the globe this summer. No pricing or carriers have been announced as of yet, but we will be sure to keep you updated.

Carrier Billing Comes To Google Play In 7 Countries

The Google Play Store has just expanded it payment option capabilities, with Google announcing the new option to bill you purchases to your monthly carrier bill. This has been done before, through AT&T even (back when it was still called the Android Market), but Google has now made more than apps available for purchase through carrier billing. Now, with carrier billing you can purchase just about anything that you would like on the Play Store, including music, movie rentals, and of course, paid applications.

This isn’t just specific to the US either, as a number of global carriers have agreed to work with Google, bringing carrier billing to 7 countries as of right now with “more coming soon.” The carriers that have partnered with Google are pretty varying as well. Verizon is the only major US carrier to still not be on board, and we’re not all that surprised as it is most likely for similar reasons as Verizon not wanting Google Wallet either. Currently customers of T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint will be able to access carrier-billing, and Google is still stressing the fact that more will be on board “soon.”

In other nations across the globe, carriers are beginning to allow this type of billing as well. While it is not yet widely available, this can really change how we pay for applications and other types of media. For example, it is much easier for people, especially those without credit cards, to purchase media if they just have to bill it to their monthly carrier bill. Parents will likely feel much better about giving their child the go-ahead then giving them all of their credit or debit credentials.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on any other carriers and county that jump on board, and we have a full list of the current carriers below.

Germany: T-Mobile, Vodafone
Italy: Vodafone
Japan: KDDI, Docomo, Softbank
Korea: KT, SKT, LGU+
UK: T-Mobile, Vodafone
US: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile

Source: Google Play’s Google+ via The Verge

Steve Wozniak Says Windows Phone Is Aesthetically Superior To Android, And Even iPhone In Some Ways

Over the weekend, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, described in an interview what is to be taken as a very positive feeling about Windows Phone. Wozniak has been known to keep his eyes open to the competing technology to his company’s own, and many times try devices out for himself. Wozniak has even said in previous interviews that Android is, in some ways, more functional than an iPhone, which shows how he is the farthest thing from “tied down” at Apple.

Steve went ahead and got himself a Nokia Lumia 900 and had that as well as a two iPhones and a DROID Razr during his interview. The Lumia 900 brought in a lot of hype being the first Nokia-Microsoft phone that was launched, and has received fairly good criticism since its release. Of course, Wozniak was one who agreed that the Lumia 900 is a great device, but also that the Windows Phone OS is quite aesthetically pleasing, and even more so than Android. He went on to say that swiping through the menus and using the device in the same ways that he would use an Android or iPhone, was more intuitive and beautiful when performed on Windows Phone. This may come as a surprise to some, as Apple’s iOS is known for its very smooth and beautiful OS, and for an Apple co-founder to come out and say a Microsoft OS is more beautiful is unheard of.

Wozniak has made blunt statements like this in the past, and it’s very nice to see people in the tech world leaving their comfort zone and trying new things. Wozniak said that someone from Apple must be working on the Windows Phone team, and that the iPhone was still his favorite, so its obvious that his allegiance is still with Apple. While this may be true, Steve Wozniak is a prime example of someone who can recognize innovation, and give it the credit it deserves.

Source: A New Domain

Uh Oh iPhone App Downloads Dipped 30% In March

Something has happened and the world is undoubtedly all shaken up about it. Fiksu has reported that Apple iOS app downloads dipped 30% in March 2012. Yes, take cover, this is news of monumental proportion.

The number of daily iPhone app downloads decreased from 6.35 million in February 2012, to 4.45 million in March. Now we bravely wanted to suggest that it may have possibly been caused by the mad rush to get to 25 billion apps. Apple was holding a huge contest to commemorate that huge milestone. Unfortunately for the month of March, that happened on March 3rd.

This feeble attempt to look at the possible bright side was foiled by more data from Fiksu. They found that iPhone users downloaded fewer apps in March than any other month since the iPhone 4S launched in October.

Fiksu contributes part of the decline to the cooling off period that came right after the honeymoon period for new iPhone 4S users. Also, we can take into consideration those who upgraded from a previous iPhone. Upgraded iPhone users have probably used their previous iPhone to download and try as many apps as possible to vet the apps that they really like. Now, graduated to a new iPhone they don’t need to download every app they come in contact with.

Business Insider also reports that Apple has cracked down on developers using third party bots to download their apps and over inflate their number of downloads. This may actually be a more clear picture of the health of the iTunes app store. Don’t for a second though, think that 4.5 million downloads is shabby.

source: SAI

Samsung Protesters Promote “WAKE UP” Campaign Outside Apple Store, Only To Generate More Press For The Tech Giant

Samsung and Apple’s patent war has been going on for quite a while now, and the two companies have really been going at it, especially Samsung, when it comes to advertisement. Samsung has not been light-footed when it comes to attacking Apple whenever they can, and the iPhone has been a huge focus of their latest ad campaigns. Samsung has already spent millions of dollars in advertising, whether it’s against Apple or not, marketing their Galaxy devices, and continues to do so.

Today, Samsung hired a group of protestors to stand outside of an Apple store in Australia and relentlessly repeat their motto “Wake Up.” This wake up call is to Apple customers who are specifically looking to purchase iDevices, but other than that they really aren’t saying much. A timer is present with a countdown to the GSIII launch, and we’re not really sure if this group is planning to stay until the timer hits zero, or whether they will call it a day.

In my opinion, hiring a protesting group is money spent that probably should have gone to Samsung’s actual products. Is Samsung’s hardware as completely sound and perfected? No. Is TouchWiz an ICS launcher replacement that we just can’t live without? Definitely not. And if all of this is true, Samsung may need to rethink their marketing strategy. Sure, it’s not all bad, but stunts like this are not only ineffective, but also embarrassing for the company and Android itself. Most of the people walking into the Apple store that day either had no clue what these protesters were talking about, or didn’t care, because obviously Samsung’s products didn’t divert them from the Apple store the first time. While a commercial or two may be fine, Samsung is crossing the line with a full protesting team that is doing exactly what Apple wants in the first place: generating press. If Apple products aren’t good, why would Samsung attack them? Cupertino couldn’t be more pleased.

Source: Android and Me

Google Unveils Google Drive, The Company’s Unified Storage Service

What may be Google’s worst kept secret of all time, Google Drive, was finally announced today. Google has already had storage options available in other Google services (Google Docs, Google Music, Picasa, etc), but today they unveiled Drive as the unified way to manage just about anything you need to store. Google has been known to launch way too many products at a time instead of focusing on one, central service, so it’s nice to see them begin to implement unification into their ecosystem.

Much like they’ve done with the Play Store and Google+, Google is clearly trying to simplify all of their products down to one, easily-marketable line of products. In fact, Google Docs now redirects to Google Drive, and Google has stated that all previously available features will be there from the start. Google is also working on incorporating Google Drive into it’s products so they can dig files, photos, and anything else attachable by email into it’s services that interact with others, such as Google+ and Gmail.

Anyone who wants to can grab 5GB of Google Drive space for free, but getting anything over that will cost you a monthly subscription. 25GB will cost you $2.49, 100GB will be $4.99, and 1TB is $49.99. Google is also throwing in 25GB to your Gmail when you start paying them for Drive, which is also a plus (no pun intended). Google has released clients for Android, Mac, PC, but Apple’s iDevices have been left out for now with “clients on the way.” Google Docs has been updated to be the Google Drive app, so any users with it installed just have to go grab the update, but other than that be sure to check out all of the clients for your devices, and let us know what you think of Google’s new storage service in the comments below.

DROID Incredible 4G Pops Up On Verizon’s Site, Confirms Previous Rumors

Today the rumored and much leaked DROID Incredible 4G popped up on Verizon’s DroidDoes website. It was quickly pulled, but the page was up long enough for our friends at Android Central to grab some screenshots of the device and and specifications. The DROID Incredible 4G has an extremely similar body-type to its Incredible predecessors, especially the DROID Incredible 2. The ever-popular (but sometimes hated) plateau back to the device is still present, and would this device honestly feel like an Incredible without it?

The hardware may be similar on the outside, with its 4-inch screen and slim, rounded body; but the DROID Incredible 4G does have some notable changes as well. First off, there are only three touch capacitive buttons on the face of the device. Back, home, and the multitasking button sit nicely on the device in that order. It is still not confirmed as to whether the Incredible 4G will have the awesome rotating buttons like the Incredible 2 did, but we sure hope it does. HTC has made a point to still include at least some hardware buttons, not completely confident in the software to suffice and that’s okay with me. While I would like to see device makers stop putting hardware buttons on devices at some point, I can see why they still want them around, one reason being that ICS is still only holding around 2% of the shares of Android OS versions.

Another notable addition to this device is full Beats audio support, whether you are playing through speakers or headphones which is nice to have along. The Incredible 4G has also been bumped up to a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, and Android 4.0 and Sense 4 will complement the hardware for an all-around speedy device. A standard 8MP camera is still sitting on the back, and the front has a VGA quality camera as well. The device is set to go for $299 on contract.

This device is very similar to HTC’s One S, and this has lead us to believe that this may not be the only HTC device hitting Verizon this year. With HTC releasing their One series, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them release a phone similar to the One X, much like they did on Sprint with the Evo 4G LTE. Check out our opinions on that here, and stay tuned for more updates on this device.

Source: Android Central

Apple’s New “iPhone At Work” Page Shows Off How Users Can Use Their iPhones For Business Too

Due to the fact that a lot of businesses are still choosing Android devices and Blackberrys over iPhones for their employees, Apple is clearly trying to push the iPhone into the business realm for more than just BYOD purposes. Apple wants employers to hand their employees iPhones as the device to use, not just an option they can bring. While costs of doing this will stop most companies from “handing their employees iPhones”, there are a few other reasons as well.

Apple has been known to always keep their software and hardware under their control, and as opposed to Google and RIM, it can sometimes be difficult for companies to switch their company devices to iPhones. With Android, companies can do pretty much anything they would like to the software in order to meet their security requirements. Of course, there are still many companies who allow their employees to pick the device they would like to use, and a lot of time these devices are iPhones. With this, Apple is trying to give users an easy way to use their iPhones for business, with their new page on their website titled “iPhone at Work”.

This page popped up under the “iPhone in Business” section, and explains to users how they can use their iPhones for business, and even shows off some apps to help them accomplish their daily goals. Apple first shows off a few of their own apps that help users “Organize your day.” We see usual apps such as Mail, Calendar, and Contacts thrown into the mix. Underneath those however, apps like MicroStrategy and Daylite Touch show ways that their users can manage projects and view different business goals and statistics to help their teams stay on top of things.

As a whole, this web page outlines everything someone with an iPhone would need to know about using their device for business. It also shows companies how integrating iPhones into their business can really boost production for their employees, especially if everyone is using an iPhone, and the apps that can accomplish the necessary tasks. Anyone with an iPhone or looking to get one should check out Apple’s new “iPhone at Work” page here.

Source: Apple, iMore