Google Nexus S 4G Review

Introduction:

Building on the mystique of the “pure Google” Nexus One, the Nexus S made its debut back in December bringing Gingerbread to the market. Whereas the HTC Nexus One had a mystique to it and differentiated itself from the market with hardware, the Nexus S was basically a slightly redesigned Samsung Galaxy S without the TouchWiz UI. Although the Nexus S might not sport all the latest goodies found on some of the most recent Android phones, it undoubtedly still has some more life left in it. What comes to prove this is that Sprint has now decided to release the Google Nexus S, but improving it by bringing a 4G compatible version to market, the aptly-named Nexus S 4G. Specs remain otherwise unchanged, so in this day of dual core phones let’s see how the Nexus S 4G stacks up.

Included with the Nexus S 4G you’ll get stereo headphones, a microUSB cable and AC adapter along with the standard users manuals and quick start guides.

Visa is planning on a vast NFC-based mobile payment network

Visa is planning to unveil one of the largest NFC-powered mobile payment systems ever attempted. It is still unclear if merchants will have to pay for NFC on top of the existing commissions for payment processing that Visa is charging.

With 1.8 billion Visa cards out there, and its brand recognition, the payment processing company just became the most formidable opponent in the mobile payments scramble. No wonder now that the US carriers toned down the plans for their own mobile payment system, called ISIS, considering that MasterCard also announced plans to start working on NFC payments.

What Visa will be starting, is based on NFC, so any phone or tablet with this chip will be able to take advantage of it. Fourteen banks and other financial institutions in the US and Canada, among which are US Bank and TD Group, will be partners in the pilot program. Visa hopes to use the leverage of its 30 million points-of-sale systems worldwide to convince merchants in adopting NFC payments as well.

The company already has pilots rolling in New York with its payWave mobile phone payments system, and also plans to work with the existing NFC payment projects, like ISIS. Visa's NFC system is supposed to start appearing at POS terminals as soon as this fall.

source: Computerworld

HP Veer 4G Review

Introduction:

HP indeed managed to turn some heads in the industry during their “Think Beyond” event back in February, where they unveiled their treasure trove of new webOS devices ranging from small, medium, and large offerings. Starting with their smallest bundle, the HP Veer 4G is headed to AT&T’s lineup bringing along its cute form factor, while still paying homage to some of the Palm Pre’s legacy with its miniaturized appearance. For a smartphone, the HP Veer 4G definitely comes off as being approachable thanks to its diminutive size, but let’s hope that its size doesn’t hinder it from making it usable with most operations.

The package contains:

• HP Veer 4G
• Proprietary USB Cable
• Wall Charger
• Get Started Guide
• 3.5mm headset jack adapter

Nokia ditches Ovi branding, rebrands services to Nokia

Nokia announced that it will ditch its Ovi brand name in favor of Nokia earlier today. The rumor about the move has been making rounds in the Internet for nearly two weeks, but now it’s official – all Nokia services will be rebranded from Ovi to Nokia, in an attempt to unify brand identity and strengthen recognition: "By centralizing our services identity under one brand, not two, we will reinforce the powerful master brand of Nokia and unify our brand architecture," Nokia's Chief Marketing Officer Jerri DeVard said on Nokia Conversations, the company’s official blog.

Nokia won’t waste much time for the transition from Ovi to Nokia and plans to start it this July and finish the process by the end of 2012. "The reasons for this decision include the fact that Nokia is a well-known and highly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices," DeVard added.

Nokia launched its Ovi web services in 2008 in an attempt to build an integrated environment for its smartphone users, but now as the company has announced its intention to migrate to Windows Phone 7, many of the services might lose their identity. Ovi Maps for once was announced to transition under the WP7 umbrella as the engine running Redmond's Bing Maps, which hinted at some possibility that Nokia could move away from the Ovi brand. But could this be part of an upcoming change of gigantic proportions? Rumors note that Nokia might sell its mobile unit to Microsoft, so stay tuned.

source: Nokia Conversations

Microsoft and Nokia to discuss sale of Nokia’s mobile unit next week?

Do you know what could easily overshadow the $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype by Microsoft? How about a multi-billion acquisition of none other than the biggest phone maker in the world – Nokia? If we are to believe Russian tech analyst Eldar Murtazin’s inside information, that’s exactly what’s about to happen as talks about the sale of Nokia's mobile unit are to be held next week between the two tech behemoths. What’s more – both Redmond and Espoo are reportedly in a hurry and the deal could close as soon as the end of 2011. For the time being, however, Murtazin notes, everything will remain behind closed doors. As unbelievable as it would have been mere months ago, the deal sounds close to reality after Nokia and Microsoft signed the Windows Phone agreement.

If true, the deal will change not only Nokia, but the mobile landscape from the ground up. It’s still a rumor, but it seems credible as Murtazin is the exact same analyst whoe correctly predicted that Nokia will ditch its Ovi branding two weeks ahead of the event. Currently, Nokia’s market value hovers around the $33 billion mark and it’s the company’s main mobile unit that could be sold. How would this change the mobile industry? Feel free to share your opinions in the comments below!
 
source: MrMurtazin (translated)

NVIDIA CEO outlines reasons for slow Android tablet sales

NVIDIA is one of the main driving hardware forces in the Android tablet world and slow sales of tablets with Google’s operating systems seem to have touched NVIDIA’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang on the raw. Huang uttered not one, but a couple of arguments detailing the reasons behind the slow start of Android tablet sales in an interview for CNET: "It's a point of sales problem. It's an expertise at retail problem. It's a marketing problem to consumers. It is a price point problem," he mentioned.

While the first three arguments seem to touch on all Honeycomb tablets, most of which run on the dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip, the price point issue instantly spurs thoughts about the Motorola XOOM. "The baseline configuration included 3G when it shouldn't have," Huang underlined. "Tablets should have a Wi-Fi configuration and be more affordable. And those are the ones that were selling more rapidly than the 3G and fully configured ones," he further explained his point. The Motorola XOOM hit retail shelves with a hard-to-swallow $799 price tag for a 3G version and lacking a Wi-Fi only model initially. In comparison, the iPad 2 carries a much more affordable $499 price tag for the base model with no 3G.

NVIDIA's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang

Echoing what rival Apple has been pointing out for a couple of months now, NVIDIA’s main man added: "And it's a software richness of content problem." The scarce number of tablet-specific apps seems to become the chant for tablet makers as Motorola’s own Sanjay Jha also mentioned the problem.

But all of those negatives have been “largely addressed by a new wave” of tablets as per Huang’s words. We can only hope for the upcoming Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 to live up to the expectations this time and give us, the users, more arguments to opt for an Android slate. But what’s your opinion about the slow start of Android slates and the underlying reasons? Don't hesitate to let us know in the comments below.

source: CNET

Nokia's Ovi Maps may replace Bing Maps entirely

The Microsoft-Nokia Windows Phone agreement has sparked a lot of rumors about how deeply the two companies will be integrated. Early on, Microsoft and Nokia said that Nokia's Ovi Maps would "be a core part of Microsoft's mapping services".

But now, a Nokia insider has said that Ovi Maps will completely replace the back end of Bing Maps. After Microsoft has spent so much in developing their competitor to the seemingly untouchable Google Maps, it seems odd to drop it in favor of Ovi Maps. But Bing Maps represents a significant ongoing expense, so Microsoft might not mind unloading it.

Search Engine Land sought a response from Microsoft on the matter, but Microsoft provided a softball response at best: "Bing Maps has utilized Nokia content for road data, geo-coding and routing services for several years, through Nokia's Navteq vector data business, relying on the quality of its data for core location services. The Nokia/MS partnership will enable deeper collaboration in the future."

Several people at Navteq and Nokia had similarly vague responses, saying that the details of the reorganization haven't yet been worked out. We shouldn't take this insider's tips as facts just yet. But it would be a logical way for Microsoft to make their mapping efforts more efficient. Unfortunately, it would also mean that many Microsoft employees could lose their jobs.

source: Search Engine Land via WMPoweruser

Feel the Sensation on June 8th via T-Mobile

The HTC Sensation 4G has picked up a large following among cell phone fanatics with many wanting the handset to be their next smartphone. We recently showed you a video made by HTC that details all of the features on the device.

First of all, HTC Sense 3.0 is on board with Android 2.3 underneath. The new version of Sense allows you to receive information from your lock screen, reducing to zero the number of clicks required to see information important to you. Speed is of the essence with the HTC Sensation  and the dual-core Qualcomm 1.2GHz processor points that out. Transitions present 3D style animation, similar to what HTC put on its Flyer tablet. The Super LCD display is 4.3 inches with qHD resolution and contoured glass to prevent scratches. The 16:9 aspect ratio lets yopu watch movies as they were "intended to be seen". A .3MP VGA camera on front allows for video chats and self-portraits.

One of the most talked about features on the HTC Sensation 4G is the 8MP camera on the back of the unit. The camera takes a picture the instant the shutter is snapped with no lags. There is a dual-LED flash and video is captured in full HD at 1080p at a 30fps rate.

A leaked internal T-Mobile memo from a dealer shows that the HTC Sensation 4G is expected to launch June 8th by the carrier. No pricing details were revealed. Yesterday we reported that Target will be offering the model for $199.99 with a 2 year contract and could be gearing up for a June 12th launch for the phone.

source: TmoNews

This internal T-Mobile document shows a June 8th launch date for the HTC Sensation 4G

Mango to bring Facebook chat, Office 365 and more to Windows Phone 7 devices

The Windows Phone Dev Podcast found what appears to be legitimate screenshots showing some of the new features that the upcoming Mango update brings to Windows Phone 7 devices. These features include Facebook chat, Office 365 including SkyDrive and SharePoint, and an improved Games hub that brings more Xbox Live integration including an "Automatic Sync" option.

Following the Mango update, it is expected that the lock screen on Windows Phone 7 handsets will be active and will display cover art whenever you use your phone's music player. Another screenshot shows what looks like a new option for group messaging.

As we reported, the Mango update should also bring turn-by-turn navigation, voice-to-text SMS messaging, Bing Audio and Bing Video to handsets running on Microsoft's mobile OS. Another rumor has visual voicemail coming with the update.

source: WindowsPhoneDevPodcast via WMPoweruser

RIM clarifies the recall of 935 BlackBerry PlayBooks

Yesterday, we told you about the Staples memo, which warned of 935 faulty BlackBerry PlayBooks. But at the time, RIM hadn't explained what exactly was faulty. Today, RIM sent the following clarifying statement to CrackBerry:

"RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.

The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven't reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices.

In the small number of cases where a customer received a PlayBook that is unable to properly load software upon initial set-up, they can contact RIM for assistance."

So, to RIM's credit, it sounds like the problem wasn't a combustion-prone battery or a major design flaw. It also means that if you've already been using your PlayBook successfully, then you don't need to check your SKU against the list of affected units. Public relations crisis: averted.

source: CrackBerry

Samsung Infuse 4G is priced at $150 through Amazon already

We all know that both the HP Veer 4G and Samsung Fuse 4G are both finally available for purchase, but with the latter, it’s getting that customary new handset discount courtesy of Amazon.

If you just simply want to save some money off the handset, as opposed to paying the usual $200 on-contract pricing through AT&T, you can head on over to Amazon where you can pick it up at $149.99 with a 2-year contract. Fortunately, the price is valid for new and existing customers with qualified upgrades! That’s great news for all those AT&T customers who have been waiting patiently for this one – and even more when free two-day shipping is included.

Therefore, if you really want to save $50 off the phone, your best bet right now is to pick it up through Amazon.

source: Amazon via Unwired View

Motorola DROID 3 to have dual-core OMAP 4 processor and 4 inch qHD display?

The Motorola DROID 3 has been found on benchmarking website Nenamark. The site claims that the 3rd generation of the phone that kicked off Androidmania will have a PowerVR SGX540 GPU under the hood. That GPU is featured in Texas Instrument's new hardware which makes it likely that like the original DROID and the DROID 2, a TI CPU will be found inside the device. According to Nenamark, a TI dual-core OMAP4 clocked at 1GHz will be running the show. Other specs pointed out by the benchmarking web site include the qHD resolution of the 4 inch display and the great news that Android 2.3.3 will apparently be pre-loaded on the model.

It is expected that the landscape sliding QWERTY keyboard-a trademark of the DROID series- will be back, this time with a 5-row layout and speculation is that both a front and rear-facing camera will be on board. What is unknown is intriguing. Will the Motorola DROID 3 be an LTE enabled device like the DROID Bionic is expected to be, or will it be 3G only like the DROID X2? 

source: Nenamark via Droid-Life

Thanks to the Nenamark benchmark web site, we know that the Motorola DROID 3 will launch with a dual-core TI OMAP 4 CPU

The Motorola DROID 3 will offer a landscape sliding QWERTY keyboard with 5 rows of keys

HTC Trophy is yet again teased by Best Buy; no word yet on a release

Previously, we’ve seen the Verizon branded HTC Trophy up on Best Buy’s web site for a brief period before being put down, then we saw a dummy unit being shown off at a Best Buy store, but we’re still nowhere closer to knowing when Big Red’s first Windows Phone 7 smartphone will launch.

Being a permanent fixture now, the HTC Trophy is being teased yet again on the big box retailer’s web site since it’s one of the featured items on there. However, the handset is still not offered as an option under Best Buy’s Windows Phone 7 lineup. As much as we’d assume that there are some Verizon customers curious about the WP7 smartphone, there are plenty of new Verizon smartphones launched recently to keep people satisfied.

With so many new handsets saturating Big Red’s lineup of late, maybe they’re just holding off for now to give other handsets some time in the spotlight?

source: Best Buy via WP Central

Flickr statistics suggest that iPad 2 owners rarely use the rear-facing camera

This might be a "duh" statistic, but Flickr's metrics suggest that iPad 2 owners rarely upload photos taken with their rear-facing camera. That should be obvious, considering the 0.7MP rear-facing camera, with a mere 960x720 resolution.

Flickr's statistics show that the iPad 2 is the least-used Apple device on Flickr, with an average of only 24 uploads per day. The next most used device is the iPod Touch, with an average of 448 uploads per day. Considering that there are 10,151 Flickr uploads from Apple devices every day, that's pretty sad.

All told, the iPad 2 makes up less than 1% of uploads by Apple devices. But it's still better than the Motorola XOOM, which averages only 4 user uploads per day. But that might have more to do with how many more iPad 2s there are in circulation.

But aside from camera resolution, there's a more practical consideration: Who wants to be the guy holding his iPad 2 in the air and taking pictures? We don't want to reduce the tablet to a fashion accessory, but you have to admit how ridiculous you might look taking a picture with it. Someone who didn't know better might think you were roaming around, looking for a place to hang a picture frame.

But don't let us deter you. When your inner shutterbug comes calling, and the tablet's all you have, shoot away!

source: PCMag

The Mutt and Jeff pair of smartphones, the Samsung Infuse 4G and the HP Veer 4G now available at AT&T

AT&T has a pair of opposites available as the carrier launches today the Samsung Infuse 4G with a huge 4.5 inch display, and the HP Veer 4G which has a petite 2.6 inch screen. The price of each device is as different as the screen is on both models. The Veer 4G is $99.99 with a signed 2-year contract while the Infuse goes for $199.99 with a signed 2 year pact. For those of you who like to pay nothing for a brand new smartphone, Best Buy is offering the HP Veer 4G for the price of zero with a brand new contract.

The pair also has a diverse offering of operating systems. The Samsung Infuse 4G has Android 2.2 on board while the HP Veer 4G is the third webOS handset following the Pre and the Pixi. The version of the OS on the Veer is webOS 2.0.

So regardless if you have big or tiny hands, AT&T has a new smartphone for you that will fit your palm perfectly. And that is the, uh, long and short of it.

source: AT&T (Infuse 4G), (Veer 4G)

Samsung Galaxy S II gets two updates to fix auto-brightness problem and to improve Swype

The Samsung Galaxy S II has just received a pair of upgrades that takes care of some small flaws that marred what otherwise has been a hugely well-received model. The handset has captured quite a buzz worldwide, even before its launch overseas, with high Quadrant benchmark scores and videos showing what might be the fastest mobile browser on the planet.

The first upgrade improved the responsiveness of the Swype keyboard, which comes pre-installed on the phone, and also repairs some connectivity issues on the unit. The second update for the Samsung Galaxy S II fixed a problem that the handset had been having with its' auto-brightness control.

To grab the update, you need to hook up your Galaxy S II to the Samsung Kies app. And the firmware is rootable, which should put a smile on the face of many of the device's owners.

source: AndroidCommunity via Engadget

HTC Inspire 4G is well red at Radio Shack

With Henry Ford once telling customers that the Model T was available in any color they like as long as it was black, you would think that the father of the modern assembly line was the CEO of every cell phone manufacturer. At least one recently launched phone is breaking the mold.

The HTC Inspire 4G is being produced in a red version that will be available at Radio Shack. The 4.3 inch Super LCD screen has a resolution of 480 X 800 pixels and the 8MP camera in the back will capture your video at 720p. Android 2.2 is aboard while a 1GHz Snapdragon processor is under the hood.

Speaking of the hood, it soon will be available in red allowing you to stand out in the crowd. No word yet on when this variant of the Inspire 4G will launch or what price Radio Shack plans on stamping on the tag. Dummy units have been spotted which means we are probably getting real close to seeing red.

source: AndroidCentral

This red dummy model of the HTC Inspire 4G means that this variant of the smartphone should soon launch at Radio Shack

Wirefly offers pure Google at a discount; Nexus S 4G priced at $99.99

If you have been thinking about making the Nexus S 4G your next handset, there are many good reasons why it would be a good choice. After all, the handset offers stock Android and traditionally, the Nexus model is usually the first to receive new OS updates from Google. The Nexus S is pre-loaded with Android 2.3-the latest version of Google's open source OS available for handsets.

While the Nexus S 4G has been priced at $199.99 with a 2-year contract at Sprint and Best Buy has the device with a price tag reading $149.99, Wirefly is willing to part with the phone for $99.99. This price is available only to those who would be new Sprint customers signing a 2-year pact. Existing Sprint customers can pick up the Nexus S for $149.99 with a new 2-year pact. There is no word on when the special pricing will be over.

The Nexus S 4G is similar to T-Mobile's Nexus S except, obviously, for the WiMAX 4G connectivity on the former model. That means it has a 4 inch WVGA Super AMOLED display with a slight curve. Under the hood is a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. The 5MP camera on back will capture HD video while the .3MP front-facing camera will let you take self-portraits or video chat. 16GB of built-in storage and 512MB of RAM are on board.

The Nexus S 4G might not have the most powerful processor or the biggest screen. But what it does have is the pure Google experience that assures you that the software running your smartphone will always be the most up-to-date version of Android available which could leave you weeks if not months ahead of all your Android totin' pals carrying around a phone with MotoBlur, TouchWiz, Sense, etc.

source: AndroidSPIN

Wirefly is offering the Nexus S 4G for $99.99 to new Sprint customers with a signed 2-year contract; current Sprint customers can buy the phone from Wirefly for $149.99

Target will offer the HTC Sensation 4G for $199

In case you've had your tech-obsessed head buried in the sand for the past month or so, the HTC Sensation 4G is a multimedia dream-machine that just might convert some die-hard Apple fans. And according to a photo snapped by a Target employee, the HTC Sensation 4G will be offered at Target for $199.

One of the first things you might notice in the picture below is the "061211" label on the package. While that could mean "June 12, 2011," that seems unlikely, as the 12th is a Sunday. But considering Target's focus on their Sunday circular ads, they might be going with a different release date than T-Mobile.

We mentioned earlier that this might convert the die-hard iPhone fanatics. Sure, the Sensation 4G has a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and a much-enhanced version of HTC Sense. But it's ability to convert iPhone fans comes from its style. The aluminum body and contoured glass make the Sensation 4G as attractive as the runway-worthy iPhone.

And if style and raw power aren't enough, then the instant-capture camera and 1080p video recording at 30fps ought to push you over the edge. What do you think? Are you going to buy one of these beauties?

source: Android Central

RIM recalls 935 BlackBerry PlayBooks for undisclosed reasons

Let's start off by saying that 935 faulty units for a product launch isn't that big of a deal. But at a time when RIM desperately needs some good press, "935" starts to sound a little more dramatic.

Staples issued an alert to their stores, informing them that 935 BlackBerry PlayBook units were faulty. But some of those units might still be on the sales floor, rather than with a new customer. We imagine that other retailers are doing the same serial-number-scramble to ensure that they don't sell a faulty unit.

As for the actual cause of the recall, they haven't provided any information. Some users have reported typical problems like dead pixels and overheating, but we haven't heard of any catastrophic failures. So RIM's got that going for them.

Have you or anyone you know had a problem with the BlackBerry PlayBook? To check if yours is one of the recalled units, follow the Engadget link below, and search for your device's serial number within the spreadsheet.

source: Engadget

Tablets may not be a threat to PCs after all

A recent study by The Nielsen Company detailed how tablet owners have changed the way they use their other electronic devices. And it seemed like largely bad news for PCs.

Thirty-five percent of tablet owners said they use their desktop less often or not at all, and 32% reported using their notebooks less often or not at all. Even eReaders suffered, with 27% decreasing use after purchasing a tablet.

But the NPD Group reports very different findings. They found that only 14% of early iPad purchasers stopped using their personal computer. And from this past holiday season, only 12% of iPad owners have switched completely to the tablet.

NPD points out that sub-$500 laptops grew by 21% during Q4 of 2010 and Q1 of 2011. And they think that this segment is the most vulnerable to being replaced by tablets, given their similar performance. NPD suggests that the dip in notebook sales is a separate issue from tablets. They point out that 75% of tablet purchasers hadn't planned to buy a new device over that time frame, meaning that the tablet was a supplementary purchase, rather than one made in place of a new PC.

source: Nielsen via Yahoo! News