Android this week: Razr beats iPhone; Acer outs HD tablet; Intel phone shows promise

This is the first week I can remember where a single Android phone is reportedly outselling Apple’s iPhone at one carrier. According to a research note from William Blair, that’s exactly what’s happening at Verizon stores. A check of inventory and sales indicated Motorola’s Droid Razr is topping the iPhone 4S, which is good news for Motorola and its new owner, Google.

It’s possible that Verizon’s LTE network is part of this surge for the Android-powered Razr: Without an LTE iPhone on any carrier, the Razr — and other Android phones — can deliver mobile broadband speeds topping 20 Mbps or more; as fast as wired broadband at home. The iPhone 4S holds its own against LTE on HSPA+ networks, but falls far shorter on Verizon and Sprint, where speeds generally average 1.5 Mbps with occasional 3 Mbps bursts. Razr sales could see their own burst as CNet noted this week that Android 4.0 was coming soon to the smartphone.



Android 4.0 is already included with Acer’s new slate:The company this week introduced its A700 tablet with the latest Google software. Pre-sales have begin in the U.S. and Canada at $449 for this 10.1-inch tablet boasting a 1900 x 1200 display with 178-degree viewing angles. I haven’t had the opportunity to try the A700 yet, but it looks good on paper.

Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 powers the A700 which also has one gigabyte of memory and 32 GB of storage, which can be expanded with the microSD card slot. The slate is Wi-Fi only — no 3G/4G radio — but includes Bluetooth, an e-compass and GPS. Acer added Dolby Mobile 3 and 5.1-channel surround sound support and a battery life claim of 8 hours for web surfing or 10.5 hours of video watching; not bad if accurate.

This week I enjoyed reading a review of the Orange San Diego handset. Why? This device, available in Europe, is based on Intel’s smartphone reference design for Android. We’ve waited a long time for Intel to truly get in the smartphone game and the San Diego shows promise for Intel’s Medfield solution.



The Verge wrote the detailed review finding that Intel may not have surpassed ARM-based chips, but in many ways, has at least caught up. I’m not too surprised because the Medfield chip demos on Android devices I saw in Januaryimpressed me enough to say that Intel’s time may have arrived.

The San Diego shines in most performance scenarios and has good stand-by time, but software is the current downfall here; particularly in the camera application. Still, the San Diego is still worth a look as it provides a glimpse into future Android smartphones carrying the “Intel Inside” sticker.

Google’s latest OS android 4.0.3

Till now galaxy Nexus is the only handset running Google’s latest OS android 4.0.
But Google recently announced its latest OS Android 4.0.3 which is an advanced release of Ice cream sandwich.
From the side of Android developers it is declared that the new OS will come with new optimization and bug fixes for android based tablets and smartphones.Apart from this optimization,there’s a small amount of new API’S for developers.Android 4.0.3 bring optimization and bug fixes to ICS.Google has listed some of the new API’S in ICE CREAM sandwich. Which includes a social stream API in contacts provider, calender provider enhancement, new and defined camera quality and accessibility refinements.This new API lets apps show users what the people they know are doing or saying along with photos and other contacts information.New camera capabilities enables the apps to manage video stabilization.There is also improvement in graphics ,spelling checking and many more.

Here's How To Get iOS 6 Right Now

First make your way to Apple's developer center website. It's at developer.apple.com. Go to the iOS Dev Center.




 

Then you'll want to register a free account. Go through the process and put in all your information.



Once you have your account, log in on the iOS Dev Center.

Click on the iOS 6 button on the iOS developer center page.

 



If you aren't a registered developer, you'll have to spend $99 a year to sign up.

From there, jump to the downloads page...

...and download the appropriate version of iOS 6 for your device. We have an iPhone 4S, so we went with that.

Bang! Here we go.

 

This is the file you'll get. It's useless if you click on it, so go to iTunes.




Find your phone on the iTunes navigation bar.




With your phone plugged in, hold the option/alt key on the keyboard and press "restore." We advise that you back your phone up first.




Go to the file you unpacked for iOS 6, and select that one.




 

It'll give you one final warning before installing iOS 6 on your iPhone.

 

And you're done! It'll take a few minutes to install and update, and you'll be good to go



 

If you can't wait to try it out.

Nokia Is Going Down!

It’s official, Nokia is going down. The one time telecom giant, who had its reputed products spread over 50 countries, has announced a cut of 10,000 jobs, and a shutdown of 3 facilities, by the end of 2013.



The Finnish Telecom Manufacturers three senior executives will also be departing from the company. The closing facilities include a research center, a factory in Germany, Canada and in its home land Finland.

The company had issued a warning to investors that its loss was likely to be greater in the second quarter of this year. It had posted a loss of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Nokia also said the negative effects of its transition to a Windows-based Smartphone business would continue into the third quarter.

Once an undisputed leader in the mobile phone market, Nokia lose its charm over the years to Apple, Samsung and other handset makers based on Android.

The company, which announced its partnership with Microsoft in 2011 for making a range of Windows based Smartphones has since then saw a steep decline of sales and profit loss, mainly due to people and operators avoiding Nokia’s own Symbian based devices.
Nokia also announced the sale of its luxury handset business, Vertu to a European firm. With its streamlining efforts, the company is planning to save €1.6 billion by the end of 2013.

“These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia’s long-term competitive strength,” said Stephen Elop, the Nokia chief executive and a former Microsoft executive. “We do not make plans that may impact our employees lightly, and as a company we will work tirelessly to ensure that those at risk are offered the support, options and advice necessary to find new opportunities.”

Last week, rumors about a Microsoft takeover had made Nokia’s sinking shares rose six percent.

 
“The cost savings and job cuts were intended to return Nokia to profitability “as soon as possible,” Elop said.

aLunch

aLunch is a very lightweight but powerful application that does what it is supposed to do and nothing more: a handy launcher that runs from within the menu bar. The application was written back in 2007, and two years later it still proves to be a strong contender.



aLunch helps you get all your apps organized and get an uncluttered dock. You can customize a hot key combination so a launcher window shows and let’s you choose either a Launcher window or go to the Launcher Menu. You can use this application with a Mac running OSX 10.4 or higher. If you have an earlier OS X such as 10.3, you need to update to version 10.3.9 to use an earlier version of the application.

Facebook camera app vs Instagram

Facebook's new camera appmakes sharing photos on the social media site a breeze. It's an improvement on posting photos using its main mobile app.

But other camera apps such as Instagram and Hipstamatic still reign supreme. Facebook Camera doesn't have the same level of addictiveness or the range of tools for sprucing up images.

Many people were perplexed when Facebook released its own camera app late last month, just weeks after snapping up the popular Instagram photo-sharing app for $1 billion.

The two apps, both free, have some similar features. Both have a scrollable feed of photos posted by your friends and other people you choose to follow. They also have a set of tools, or filters, which let you adjust contrast, color and other attributes.

But they are different enough that Facebook's camera app is more of a complement to the main Facebook app than a challenge to Instagram. Facebook's camera app is only available for Appledevices, while Instagram recently came out with a version that works on Android phones and tablet computers.

The app is easy to use with intuitive taps and swipes.

When you open it, you see a scroll of your friend's photos - the ones you would see if you clicked the photo tab in the Facebook app or on Facebook's website for regular computers. Tap on a photo to see a larger version, optimized on your phone.

Above that is a bar that shows you the most recent pictures in your device's camera library - all the photos you have stored on the iPhone or iPad. You can swipe down the feed of your friends' Facebook photos to see more of your own pictures, which you can then choose to post on Facebook.

You can comment, tag and 'like' photos, just as you can with the main app or website. You simply tap icons that hover over the photos. Change your mind? Just swipe away the comment box, and it disappears.

It is kind of a shock to suddenly see your whole photo library within a Facebook app. Before I got comfortable with the navigation, I was slightly paranoid I would accidently post a photo on Facebook without meaning to. But once I got used to the easy navigation within the app, that was less of a worry.

Once you select a photo from your library (or take one within the app by tapping the camera icon), Facebook Camera gives you much better editing options than the main site or app. You can crop the photo to any dimension, or straighten it slightly - something I almost always need to do. You can tweak images with 14 filters that have such names as "Cool" "Light" and "Rouge."

For people used to the dramatic filters of Instagram and the wacky lenses and film-like options of Hipstamatic, the filters on the Facebook Camera are underwhelming. They didn't make a dramatic difference on photos I used them on, and I doubt I would use them before using Facebook Camera to post a photo.

For those who like a lot of editing control, Facebook Camera lacks the full-featured photo-adjustment capabilities available in PhotoToaster or Snapseed (which is usually $4.99 in the app store but is free until Friday, so snap it up!).

But I was pleased with the ease with which I could post photos to Facebook with its camera app. I will probably use it whenever I post a photo to the site now. Unlike the regular app, Facebook Camera makes posting multiple photos easy as well, although there's no ability to create albums on Facebook without going to the main site.

Still, it's not going to replace Instagram for me. I follow an assortment of people on Instagram based solely on the quality of their photos, ranging from gorgeous landscapes to gritty street scenes. I'm always excited to check out new pics.

I friend people on Facebook for different reasons - and it's not because of the quality of their photos. As a result, the stream on the Facebook Camera app has a random feel.

It also has a bit of a dilutive quality when I check the main Facebook app at work (ahem, not that I ever do that) or at home. Since I've already seen most of the photos, the main Facebook news stream feels less "new."

So think of Facebook Camera less as competition for other camera apps, and more of a complement - like Facebook's other standalone apps, for messaging and for managing business brand pages - to the main Facebook site.

Linux on Microsoft Azure Platform-as-a-Service: Big Whoop

Here in the U.S., Android was front and center early in the week as five carriers announced they would be selling Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular are all prepping pre-orders or hyping their launch dates for Samsung’s flagship phone. Some may start selling this month, while others will deliver the goods in July. Either way, this launch differs greatly from last year’s Galaxy S model, which first launched overseas in May but didn’t arrive in the U.S. until 4 to 6 months later, depending the carrier.

Perhaps more interesting is Samsung’s “one phone for all” approach. Instead of multiple Galaxy S III models with slight carrier tweaks, Samsung has taking an Apple-like approach and created one singular design for the phone.



That means, for example, that the U.S. models will have the same hardware button on the front as the international versions. The only differences for the U.S. are the chip that powers the phone and the amount of memory. Since Samsung’s quad-core Exynos processor doesn’t yet have LTE integration, the company is using Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon S4 for all U.S. Galaxy S III handsets and boosting the RAM from 1 GB to 2 GB. I haven’t yet used a U.S. version of the Galaxy S III, but I expect this combo to be similar in performance to the international version.

Samsung has been in Apple’s sights in the courts lately — Cupertino is already trying to stop the Galaxy S III from being sold in the U.S. — but the bigger target seems to be HTC and its Android phones. Last month, Apple’s legal efforts were enough to hold up shipments of various HTC One models in the U.S., which forced HTC to make a change to its software. That change was enough to get shipments flowing again, but this week, Apple said that’s still not enough to solve the problem. This entire situation is worth watching because the alleged patent infringement — as I read it, that is — could apply to any Android hardware maker. In some sense, Apple is indirectly fighting with Google by aiming at the smaller targets: The handset makers themselves.



Just as the week came to a close, I received a review unit of Toshiba’s Excite 7.7 tablet; one of the few that ships with Android 4.0. The device is a Wi-Fi-only model, which may disappoint some, but the positive is that there’s no monthly bill for mobile broadband. The Excite 7.7 is physically very similar to the Galaxy Tab 7.7 I purchased earlier this year and has the same 1280 x 800 resolution using what Toshiba calls a “Pixel Pure AMOLED Display”. I see little difference between the two screens.

Where I can see variance is in the overall experience and performance. Toshiba opted for Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip, which keeps apps, games and video moving quickly. Plus, I find the tablet experience to be improved with Android 4.0; my Galaxy Tab 7.7 is still stuck on Android 3.2. Toshiba didn’t hide Android with a skin either; it’s generally a pure experience; the only exception being some apps grouped in folders on the home screen. I’ll have a full review soon, but the key data point that stands out is the price: $499 which may be too much for a small slate.

Android this week: Toshiba’s small slate; Galaxy S III details; patent wars worsen

Here in the U.S., Android was front and center early in the week as five carriers announced they would be selling Samsung’s Galaxy S III. Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular are all prepping pre-orders or hyping their launch dates for Samsung’s flagship phone. Some may start selling this month, while others will deliver the goods in July. Either way, this launch differs greatly from last year’s Galaxy S model, which first launched overseas in May but didn’t arrive in the U.S. until 4 to 6 months later, depending the carrier.

Perhaps more interesting is Samsung’s “one phone for all” approach. Instead of multiple Galaxy S III models with slight carrier tweaks, Samsung has taking an Apple-like approach and created one singular design for the phone.



That means, for example, that the U.S. models will have the same hardware button on the front as the international versions. The only differences for the U.S. are the chip that powers the phone and the amount of memory. Since Samsung’s quad-core Exynos processor doesn’t yet have LTE integration, the company is using Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon S4 for all U.S. Galaxy S III handsets and boosting the RAM from 1 GB to 2 GB. I haven’t yet used a U.S. version of the Galaxy S III, but I expect this combo to be similar in performance to the international version.

Samsung has been in Apple’s sights in the courts lately — Cupertino is already trying to stop the Galaxy S III from being sold in the U.S. — but the bigger target seems to be HTC and its Android phones. Last month, Apple’s legal efforts were enough to hold up shipments of various HTC One models in the U.S., which forced HTC to make a change to its software. That change was enough to get shipments flowing again, but this week, Apple said that’s still not enough to solve the problem. This entire situation is worth watching because the alleged patent infringement — as I read it, that is — could apply to any Android hardware maker. In some sense, Apple is indirectly fighting with Google by aiming at the smaller targets: The handset makers themselves.



Just as the week came to a close, I received a review unit of Toshiba’s Excite 7.7 tablet; one of the few that ships with Android 4.0. The device is a Wi-Fi-only model, which may disappoint some, but the positive is that there’s no monthly bill for mobile broadband. The Excite 7.7 is physically very similar to the Galaxy Tab 7.7 I purchased earlier this year and has the same 1280 x 800 resolution using what Toshiba calls a “Pixel Pure AMOLED Display”. I see little difference between the two screens.

Where I can see variance is in the overall experience and performance. Toshiba opted for Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip, which keeps apps, games and video moving quickly. Plus, I find the tablet experience to be improved with Android 4.0; my Galaxy Tab 7.7 is still stuck on Android 3.2. Toshiba didn’t hide Android with a skin either; it’s generally a pure experience; the only exception being some apps grouped in folders on the home screen. I’ll have a full review soon, but the key data point that stands out is the price: $499 which may be too much for a small slate.

Who Offers the Cheapest iPhone 4S?

Over the last week, no-contract carriersCricket and Virgin Mobile announced upcoming sales of the iPhone.  If you can swing the initial expense of purchasing an iPhone for $500 or $650, you may be surprised at how much you will save over the course of 2 years compared to AT&T, Sprint or Verizon Wireless. We know we were when creating this chart.

We’ve calculated the cost for all of the carriers over 2 years of service. The cheapest option possible is the $35 monthly plan with Virgin Mobile–even though the initial cost for a 16GB iPhone 4S is $650. The $35 Virgin Mobile plan offers 300 min of talk time, 2.5GB of data, and unlimited text. This plan is even cheaper if you sign up for automatic bill payment with a credit card or PayPal–the price drops to $30 per month.

For those who need more than 300 minutes and 2.5 GB of data, Cricket is least expensive.  The initial cost of the 16GB iPhone 4S is $500. The monthly plan is $55, and that includes unlimited text and talk time. Data is also unlimited, but only 1GB is promised at 3G speeds. Virgin Mobile also offers a $55 unlimited plan with 4G internet speeds. The only difference in total price for 2 years is that you have to pay $150 more initially to purchase the iPhone through Virgin.  It might be worth it for faster internet.

Don’t want to spend $500 or $650 upfront for a phone? You’ll want to go with either AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. Sprint might seem a little bit more expensive in the 450 Min level but it includes unlimited texting and data– where as AT&T and Verizon only includes 300MB and 2GB respectively. There are many ways to text for free on a iPhone with iMessage or 3rd party apps but if you want texting, you will have to add $20 to the AT&T and Verizon prices.  At the end, if you are a big data and text user, Sprint is no doubt the best option for you.

Samsung unveils Windows 8-based tablets, notebooks

South Korea's Samsung Electronicsunveiled notebook and tablet computers running on Windows 8, the latest firm to showcase products that use Microsoft's eagerly-awaited new operating system.

On the opening day of Asia's leading IT fair inTaipei, Samsung showcased the products, including the Series 5 Hybrid which has features of both a laptop and a tablet, in a low-key display.

"Visitors should be able to see the tight partnership between Samsung and Microsoft and Intel," said Lorraine Tsao, a spokeswoman for Samsung in Taiwan.

It came a day after Taiwanese rivals Acer and Asus unveiled products running on Windows 8, which is the focus of the annual Computex fair, in its 32nd year.

A new survey meanwhile showed that Samsung overtook Amazon in the first three months of the year to take second spot in the global market for tablet sales, but still lagged far behind Apple with its ever-popular iPad.

Windows 8 is touted as Microsoft's long-awaited riposte to the rise of Apple and mobile devices powered by Google's Android operating system. There is no official release date but reports have predicted an October launch.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer says that Windows 8 will support a wider range of devices including touch- and stylus-based smartphones and tablet PCs, as well as desktops and laptops.

The ABI Research survey, out Monday, showed that the iPad extended its lead in the global market for tablets in the first three months of the year, holding 65 per cent of the market with 11.8 million shipments of the device.

Samsung grabbed the number two spot with 1.1 million shipments, or six percent of the market, overtaking Amazon, which saw an 80 per cent quarter-over-quarter drop in sales of the Kindle Fire, according to ABI.

Computex features more than 1,800 exhibitors registering 5,400 booths, up two per cent from a year ago.

The organisers estimate that the IT fair will draw 36,000 foreign buyers who may place bulk orders worth up to $28 billion.

Samsung to build $1.9 bln logic chip line

Samsung Electronics Co(005930.KS), the world's No.2 chipmaker, said it will spend $1.9 billion to build a new logic chip line to make processors for mobile devices as demand grows for smartphones and tablets.

Samsung, which makes application processors for Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone and iPad - which rival its own Galaxy and Note devices - said the new line will use 300 mm wafers and 20 nanometer and 14 nanometer processing technology.

The South Korean firm is aggressively pumping up production of logic chips, as growth in the mobile device market outpaces weak computer sales. Demand for system chips used in smartphones and tablets is set to more than double to $59 billion in 2016 from $23 billion last year, according to research firm Gartner.

In a statement, Samsung said the new line - which it hopes to complete by the end of next year - would help meet growing demand for "smart mobile solutions".

The investment plan follows Samsung's recent decision to build its first chip manufacturing plant in China to make NAND type flash memory chips, which analysts estimate will cost some 4-5 trillion won.

Ahead of the announcement, shares in Asia's biggest technology firm closed up 5.2 percent in a broad market rally that sent the benchmark KOSPI index up 2.6 percent.

Is Microsoft about to acquire Nokia?

Finnish telecom giant Nokia, considered among the most trusted brands in India, is going through a bad patch with its shares at an all-time low, triggering speculation that it may be acquired by Microsoft.

Once the most valuable companies in Europe, the mobile telecom equipment firm has seen its share prices fall to 2.20 euros in recent days -- the lowest since the mid-1990s.

The weekly Helsinki Times in its latest edition said the Nokia stocks were now below book value -- a situation described as "worth more dead than alive" rhetorically.

"The investment community is fertile ground for rumours, and there are plenty about what could happen to Nokia. One of the most persistent rumours is that Microsoft may buy the company," the weekly said.

"The alliance with Microsoft is a powerful one. Maybe Apple and Google have already won the mobile-phone business, and everyone else is doomed," it said in a report, quoting The Wall streetJournal.

"But that's what they once said about Nokia. Things change in this industry. Microsoft, which is desperate to play catch-up in smart-phones, could buy Nokia today out of petty cash."

The Bill Gates-led US software and tech giant has about 46 billion euros in cash equivalent, while Nokia's market value is 8.4 billion euros, the weekly said, adding there was no speculation on any other buyer for Nokia, ruling out Apple, Samsung or RIM.

It also suggested that Nokia could try to reverse its fortunes with bold steps.

Twitter makes more money through mobile ads than website: Dick Costolo, CEO

 Popular micro blogging site Twitterhas generated more revenue from advertisements on mobile than from its website in the last quarter, according to a report.

The company's CEO, Dick Costolo, highlighted Twitter's progress in squeezing ad dollars out of the growing number of smartphone and tablet users worldwide.

"We're borne of mobile," Costolo said during a conference hosted by The Economist Group in San Francisco.

"We have an ad platform that already is inherently suited to mobile, even though we launched our platform on the eeb and only started running ads on mobile recently," he added.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Costolo's remarks came when rival firm Facebook faces intense pressure to improve its business performance on mobile.

Twitter, which now has 140 million monthly active users producing 400 million tweets daily, has ramped up its revenue-generating efforts since Costolo assumed the top leadership role in late 2010.

The company introduced ads into smartphone users' timeline in February.

Twitter later released a feature allowing advertisers to send promotional tweets specifically to iPhone andAndroid users, who comprise 60 percent of all Twitter users.