Samsung Galaxy Pro Review

This is a global GSM phone. It can be used with T-Mobile USA and AT&T, but without 3G.

Introduction:

With a flurry of Android handsets released in the past year, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between them. That said, QWERTY devices are thinner on the ground and for this reason, when the Samsung Galaxy Pro landed on our desk, we were hopeful. With a BlackBerry-esque form factor, 3MP autofocus camera and 2.8" capacitive screen as well as a host of connectivity options, the Galaxy Pro also packs a 4 tiered QWERTY keyboard.

Another lawsuit claims Apple iPhone transmits personal data and location information to third parties

A lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico alleges that the Apple iPhone transmits personal data and location information to third party advertisers. According to The Loop, the suit was filed by Lymaris M. Rivera Diaz, and accuses the Cupertino based firm of, "intentionally intercepting personally identifying information," adding The Weather Channel and Pandora Music as defendants along with Apple. The filing also leaves open the possibility of more defendants being named later. No surprise, the suit seeks monetary damages.

Apple is now looking at defending itself against 6 charges including fraud, abuse, and unfair trade practices. This is the second lawsuit that Apple has recently been served with charging the company of releasing information about a person's location without permission. The tech giant has continued to proclaim its innocence. On Wednesday, during a hearing in the U.S. Senate, Apple’s Vice President of Software Technology, Guy L. “Bud” Tribble, testified before the U.S Senate, answering questions about mobile privacy. Tribble said, "Apple was never tracking an individual’s location from the information residing in that cache."

source: TheLOOP via AppleInsider

Paid Android apps coming to 99 more countries, top app rankings now live in Android Market

Google is finally rolling out a long-awaited feature that will make developers grin with delight - the ability to access paid apps from Android Market in 99 additional countries now. We only had 14 countries with paid apps so far, so with 113 in total Google will have covered almost any place where debit or credit cards are issued, because, well, that's how you pay for apps.

A number of people are reporting that paid apps are appearing in Android Market on their phones, priced in local currency, and they bought them using local debit or credit cards, despite that the feature is not supposed to be completely rolled until next week. Before that Android users in these countries were forced to download the goods as .apk files from dark and shady places, if they wanted to have this or that one on their phones.

Furthermore, Android Market is now addressing its app curation issues, by listing Top Paid, Top Free, Editor's picks, Top Grossing apps and so on. With more than 250 000 applications, it had become an issue finding what's relevant for you on Android Market, and we are glad to see that Google is charging hard to resolving these problems.

source: Google

Sharp Aquos Phone brings 3D HD recording to Japan on May 20

While we're looking forward to the LG Optimus 3D, Japan's NTT DoCoMo is getting their own device capable of shooting 3D HD video. The Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C will prove a close rival to LG's much-anticipated device.

The SH-12C features two 8-megapixel cameras, capable of shooting 720p 3D video. The earlier versions of the Sharp Aquos Phone could take only still images in 3D.

It features a 4.2-inch display with 2D resolution of 540x960, and a glasses-free 3D display. The SH-12C runs on the Android 2.3 OS, and is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor. If all that weren't enough, it also has an NFC chip, a digital TV tuner, and infrared communication.

The Sharp Aquos Phone SH-12C is up for pre-order on May 14th for release on May 20th, with pricing still unannounced. And if Sharp is listening, this is all we have to say: Why do you tease us like this?

source: TechOn via CNET

Dummy Motorola DROID X2 units appear at Costco

While it would appear that the rumored May 12th launch date for the Motorola DROID X2 will come and go without the device being released, there are signs that the sequel to Verizon's one-time flagship phone will soon be made available. That clue comes in the form of the dummy units that have appeared at Costco.

Verizon's first dual-core handset is not LTE enabled which might be disappointing to those with an update burning a hole in their pocket. But there is still plenty to like about the phone including the 4.3 inch display which has been upgraded to qHD resolution. Under the hood is a 1GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and an 8MP camera around back.

Don't start adjusting your screen or your glasses if the picture seems blurry to you-the person taking the photo was so much in awe of being that close to the DROID X2 that he started shaking uncontrollably. With any luck, you will get to experience that for yourself shortly.

source: AndroidCentral

The dummy units of the Motorola DROID X2 (L) have arrived at Costco signaling that the launch should be soon

 

The Motorola DROID X2 is on left with the first-gen version on the right

Verizon's Pre 3 visits the FCC

One month after the AT&T version of the HP Pre 3 made it past the bureaucratic rubber stampers at the FCC, the CDMA variant of the webOS phone made it through the same maze. This model of the Pre appears headed for a launch at Verizon. This model of the phone will be working on the CDMA (850, 1900MHz), UMTS (900, 2100MHz) and GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 MHz) frequencies making this a world phone for Big Red.

Still no word on when we see the Pre 3 launched, but now that both models can be legally sold, it shouldn't be too much longer before the handset is released. For those who keep track of such things, the GSM model is listed as HSTNH-F30CN while the CDMA unit has the same exact model number except for the "N" at the end which is replaced with a "V" (for Verizon?).

Verizon has yet to introduce the HP Pre 3 but we do know that there are some major changes to the handset. The display has been  increased by half an inch to 3.6 inches and under the hood is a rather speedy 1.4GHz processor. Will the HP Pre 3 be the Pre model that finally lives up to the tremendous expectations that were placed on the original version of the phone, but were never met?

source: FCC via WirelessGoodness, Engadget

Best Buy Canada's Free Phones Friday: Motorola ATRIX 4G, Nexus S, HTC Desire HD and more

Last week, as we reported, Best Buy Canada offered the BlackBerry Torch 9800 for free with a signed three year contract. It was the return of the big box retailers Free Phone Friday which continues this Friday with six Android models available at no cost with a signed contract.

The Motorola ATRIX 4G (Bell), the HTC Desire HD (Telus), the Nexus S (Rogers/Fido), LG Optimus One (Koodo), HTC Incredible S (Virgin), and the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant (Sasktel) will all be free this Friday from Best Buy Canada as long as you sign a new three year contract, which is the standard length of a carrier's contract up north.

If you had been planning to purchase one of these Android models soon, why not take advantage of this deal? You're not going to find the "world's most powerful smartphone" as the Motorola ATRIX 4G is billed, for the low, low price of free, in most retail locations. Each Friday in May is Free Phone Friday for Best Buy Canada which means there are two Fridays remaining. Are you holding out for a particular model?

source: MobileSyrup

Best Buy Canada is offering 6 Android models for free on Friday, with a signed 3 year contract; one of the models is the dual-core powered Motorola ATRIX 4G

Latest Motorola MILESTONE 2 software update carries along usual set of enhancements

More than likely forgotten amidst the horde of high powered Android smartphones being launched since its release overseas, the Motorola MILESTONE 2 is still lucky enough at its age to see a software update come around its way.

Luckily, a software update for the handset brings its software version to 2.4.24, and much like most things, it carries along some of the usual set of enhancements and improvements. Specifically, it’s said to improve security, provide better phone call stability & performance, and it includes the latest versions of Google’s set of core apps – like Google Maps and Gmail.

If you happen to be a German O2 or Vodafone customer, then you’ll be glad to know that the update is provided via an over-the-air process. Conversely, owners in other countries like Austria, France, Switzerland, and the UK will be required to download it through Motorola’s Software Update service.

source: Motorola Support Forums via Mobileburn

Best Buy opens up pre-order for the white HP Veer 4G - selling for free at launch

It’s hard to say right now whether or not we’re fond of the HP Veer 4G’s price tag of $99.99, but thankfully though, we’re sure that it’s going to get a much needed price chop by some retailers.

Rightfully so, Best Buy appears content to offer pre-orders for the beloved and cute looking webOS powered device, but more importantly, they’re going to sell the handset for free with a contract when it comes out. Apparently it seems that only the white version of the handset will be sold at stores, while both the black and white models will be sold online. Obviously, if you intend on picking up the handset, you can plunk down $50 to get yourself situated with a pre-order – which is then refunded to you in the form of a $50 gift card.

So when the 15th comes along, you can stroll right into your local Best Buy store and pick up your prized possession – and then use that $50 on something else to tastefully complement your new purchase.

source: PreCentral

Amazon prices the HTC ThunderBolt to $129.99 for a limited time

Just about every other week, we’re constantly seeing a variety of online retailers giving us some alluring pricing with the HTC ThunderBolt, and we bet that its price will continue to plummet when summer begins to heat up.

Previously, we’ve seen it go as low as $100 in the state of Michigan, while others like Wirefly have sold it for as little as $150, but Amazon has one enticing offer right now that could evoke a cursory response. The online retailer is actually selling the 4G LTE enabled Android smartphone for a whopping $129.99 with a 2-year agreement. Naturally, it’s extremely a lot more appealing than the $249.99 that Verizon is asking for, but it’s hard to say how long this deal will last – in fact, it’s mentioned to be “for a limited time only.”

Obviously, you don’t want to hesitate that much, especially when pricing like this is hard to come by, so you’d better think fast on your feet whether or not you want to pick one up before it’s too late.

source: Amazon via Unwired View

Verizon's HTC Trophy shows up on Craigslist with an asking price of $160

Still without a definitive launch date, some might be surprised to find that Verizon’s upcoming HTC Trophy is available for sale – through Craigslist though! Sure you might wonder what the deal is with the handset, but knowing that it’s not yet available for purchase through Verizon, it’s understandable if you’re somewhat leery about it all.

One seller on Craigslist, presumably unfamiliar about the notoriety surrounding the device, has placed the handset on sale along with an HTC Droid Incredible 2 in the same posting. Frankly, the $160 that the seller is asking for the HTC Trophy is seen as a great deal, considering that it’s not even out yet, but we’d suspect that it could possibly be stolen – hence, the ESN could be blocked. However, if the lure of owning a handset before anyone else appeals more to you, then maybe you want to inquire more about it.

source: Craigslist via WP Central

AT&T tricked by Senate questioning; carrier admits it was big enough to handle Apple iPhone launch

In a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday to determine if the proposed acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T would be anti-competitive, Senator Al Franken got the best of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. Keep in mind that what the Senate wants to hear is that AT&T is not some gigantic company that would be able to gouge the public and grab exclusives on handsets once it gobbles up the nation's fourth largest carrier.

Stephenson was asked by Senator Franken, a former television comic, if the executive thought that the original launch of the Apple iPhone could have gone to a regional carrier instead of AT&T. Stephenson replied that he thought that Apple would not have wanted a smaller carrier for the launch and would rather have had a large national firm like AT&T handling the release of the handset.

A number of witnesses came out against the transaction. Cellular South CEO Victor Meena said that AT&T used its "market power" to get the iPhone exclusive which ended earlier this year when Verizon launched a CDMA version of the popular cell phone. Democrat Senator Klobuchar chimed in with statistics showing that AT&T owned 44% of the cell phone market, enabling them to get any device they want to offer.

CEO Stephenson downplayed the importance of the Apple iPhone on AT&T's growth, contradicting past statements that stated how important the device is to the growth of the carrier. AT&T has always noted that Apple's device was the top selling handset for AT&T ever since its 2007 launch and the company has always broken out sales of the phone separately when releasing earnings. By making the iPhone sound insignificant, AT&T can claim that its size did not allow it to report huge profits at the expense of smaller carriers.

source: electronista

Angry Birds to be preloaded on LG Optimus smartphones

According to LG's UK blog, Angry Birds developer Rovio and LG have reached an agreement on a deal that allows the Korean cell phone manufacturer to preload the Rio version of the popular game on the LG Optimus series. The game includes characters from the 20th Centrury Fox film Rio.

You will find Angry Birds Rio preloaded on the phones starting sometime this quarter. In Angry Birds Rio, the original feathered stars are birdnapped and taken to the city of Rio from where they escape.

Once free, the Angry Birds set off to find thier pals, Jewel and Blu. The latter two are rare Macaws and are the stars of the movie Rio, still at a theater near you. The Angry Birds? They will soon be getting flinged into the air on a LG Optimus smartphone near you.

source: LG

Unlocked & no-contract required Google Nexus One is selling for $270

Although some would tend to argue whether or not it’s past its time under the spotlight, one thing is certain for sure, the Google Nexus One is just one of those devices that will always have a cult following with it – especially when it's flaunting the pure Google branding.

Time is always one of those things that lessen the popularity of a certain handset, but for the mighty Google Nexus One, it has managed to stem the onslaught since it constantly receives all the latest Android updates. Actually, now is probably the perfect time to pick one up – even more when it’s priced at $269.99! Almost more than half-off from its original starting price of $529.99, it’s definitely something that might attract some people, especially when it’s an unlocked model and doesn’t require any contracts.

Right now, you can pick up the handset online through DailySteals.com, where it’s going for sale for today only. Additionally, there is a $4.99 shipping charge associated with the purchase – thus bringing its total to $274.98.

Thanks Justin!

source: DailySteals

Murky images of a touchscreen Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone leak, possibly Android

The Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot family used to sport some of the best phones for the shutterbugs out there. The Cyber-shot line was synonymous with quality camera sensors and Xenon flash, rarely seen on phones.

With the assault of powerful smartphones Sony Ericsson struggled hard to catch up, but now that it turned to Android, the manufacturer seems to get most things right, with excellent and distinctive offerings like the Xperia arc or Xperia Play.

We know that the Cyber-shot line is not dead, as we spotted one representative - the Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot  S006 - pay a visit to the FCC last year, with a 16MP Exmor R camera sensor, but there was no smartphone operating system on it. What immediately came to our minds then was "Couldn't Sony Ericsson put this sensor in an Android handset with Xenon flash?", but to this moment it remained wishful thinking.

Now, however, a few fuzzy images have leaked of what looks like a slim touchscreen phone from Sony Ericsson, and there is clearly a Cyber-shot logo under the screen. There are no photos of the back, so we don't know what camera sensor this might have, or if it will include a Xenon flash, but one can only hope.

The interesting thing is that we have the Android buttons, like Home and Back, slapped prominently at the front. Again, there is no further info if this is just a concept, a mock-up, or something that might go into production, but an Android phone with the Cyber-shot brand only makes sense for Sony Ericsson. Hopefully more info will be leaked soon.

source: XperiaBlog

T-Mobile reserves the SnapPad brand, looks like a new tablet

Welcome the T-Mobile SnapPad - this is a name we may have to get accustomed to, as it seems to be the brand T-Mobile has chosen for one of its future tablets.

It seems practically certain that this is the case, as T-Mobile has patented the name at USPTO (and specified it's a tablet) and has reserved the T-MobileSnapPad.com, .net, .org, .info and .biz domains.

Sadly, the important details about the device itself and its release date are missing.

Speculations claim it may be the name of Magenta's HTC Flyer or its version of the Sony Tablet S2, but there is every chance that this is brand new, unannounced tablet. Truth be told, there is no way to figure it out, so for now we will wait patiently for another leak concerned with this T-Mobile SnapPad tablet.

source: DotWeekly, USPTO via pocketnow

Google Music works on iOS thanks to its web-based player

Google finally entered the realms of cloud-based music services after a beta version of Google Music along with a Google Music Android app were brought to life yesterday. Being a child of Google itself, the streaming audio service was announced to be optimized for Honeycomb tablets with smartphone versions of Android (2.2 Froyo and above) to support it as well, but it turns out there is a way to stream your uploaded songs to iOS devices without much difficulty.

Even though the web-based Google Music player is built using Adobe Flash technology, it seems like Mobile Safari is able to run it just fine. The first and most important thing that you need to do is to get yourself an invitation to a beta account, kind of like when Gmail launched back in 2004. After you do that, you should be able to upload your favorite tunes from your computer to Google's cloud. Once that is finished, open Mobile Safari and navigate to Google Music's home page where you will be able to log in using your Google account. That's it! As soon as you log in, the web-based Google Music player will show up and you will be able to use it even when Mobile Safari is minimized. Just remember to use two fingers when scrolling through the playlist, and that the audio controls in the iOS multitasking tray work too.

Bear in mind that the web-based player lags a bit when navigating, but having it running to some extent is definitely better than not being able to use it at all. Feel free to give it a try and let us know how it works for you by dropping a comment for us below.

To request your Google Music from the service's home page - click here.

source: CNET via Redmond Pie

Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 Google I/O edition for sale on eBay with a four-digit price tag

The first day of the Google I/O event gave us and the fans a thorough update of what was being baked in Google's busy kitchen, but as for the attendees – all 5000 of them had the privilege of walking away with a brand new, limited edition Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1 dressed up in an eye-catching white outfit. Feeling like you want to grab yourself one as well even though the device has not been launched yet? If money is not an issue for you, eBay currently has at least a couple of these special edition Honeycomb tablets for sale with a four-digit price tag.

With a little over six days until the auction is over, the special edition Samsung GALAXY Tab 10.1's current bid stands at $1001 without the shipping costs – twice as much as its starting price was when the item got listed a day ago. If you do not like to wait, there is another unit available from a different seller with a Buy It Now price of $1399 and free worldwide shipping included. The slimmer GALAXY Tab 10.1 model is expected to launch in a little less than a month after Samsung decided to redesign it and make it about as slim as an iPad 2. However, a white version of the tablet has not been officially announced yet, and its release along with the black model is only a matter of speculation for now.

source: eBay Canada and eBay via MobileSyrup