Apple wins temporary relief from MMI injunction in Germany

Bloomberg is reporting that a German appellate court has granted Apple temporary relief from an injunction from Motorola Mobility. Motorola won an injunction in December against some Apple devices based on a “standards essential” patent. Apple claimed that because the patent is protected by the Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) rules, Motorola shouldn’t be able to enforce their injunction while Apple still had a chance to win on appeal.

HTC One X for AT&T hands-on

Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to check out the international version of the mighty HTC One X during HTC’s press event at Mobile World Congress, but today, we’re checking out the variant that AT&T will be getting in the near future – you know, the one that has a dual-core processor and 4G LTE connectivity. Even before getting our hands on it, we were a bit skeptical about its performance, however, we have to admit right from the get-go that it’s no concern whatsoever.

Quad-core 1.5 GHz Galaxy S3 with full HD screen coming in July?

It just wouldn’t be MWC unless a new Galaxy S model teased us somehow, and right on cue we’re received a new round of rumors on the Galaxy S3 specs and its release date. First, BGR has updated the specs they first leaked over the weekend. They are now reporting that the bezel-less s4.8" screen will be a full HD 1080p screen that will be powered by a quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU, on top of the goodies we reported over the weekend, including a ceramic body, LTE, and of course Android 4.0.

ViewSonic ViewPad P100 Windows tablet Hands-on Review

We had a chance to fondle the ViewSonic ViewPad P100 Windows-running slate at MWC, and came away fairly satisfied with what we saw - for a Windows tablet, that is. ViewSonic is one of the brave tablet makers that venture into Windows tablets before Win 8 was even a twinkle in Ballmer's eye, and now it capitalizes on the acquired know-how with the ViewPad P100, pure Windows 7 device, upgradeable to Win 8. 

Samsung Galaxy Beam promo video lavishes praise on the projector

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is one of the surprises of MWC 2012 - it has decent dual-core processor and the rest, but it truly shines with its built-in projector. Having an nHD projector in your pocket at all times is a great idea and the one on the Galaxy Beam delivers 50″ image at 15 lumens brightness.

ViewSonic G70, E70 and E100 Android tablets Hands-on Review

ViewSonic also came with a lithany of tablets on MWC 2012, in addition to its ViewPhone handsets. Spanning from 7" to 10-inchers, Android to Windows, there is something for everybody.

Let's start with the entry level ViewPad E70 and slowly build up the excitement, shall we?  Its main virtue is the price - about $170 for an Android ICS slate does not sound bad at all, and it ships in April. The buck stops here though, since the 7" display on the E70 has 800x480 pixels, making everything look rather grainy, not to mention that the slate feels rather heavy and unwieldy to hold.

Nokia Asha 302 Hands-on Review

The Nokia Asha 302 is the full QWERTY business class addition to the extremely affordable Asha lineup based on Series 40. It actually managed to impress us with its looks resembling the good old Nokia E series (or the ASha 303 if you want a more recent example), but the Asha 302 is completely plastic and you can feel this when you hold it.

GIVEAWAY: Samsung Galaxy Note

Guys and girls, take out your lucky horseshoes and hold on to those rabbit feet! Starting February 27 and all the way through March 4, Samsung and PhoneArena will be hosting a Samsung Galaxy Note giveaway. Yes, one lucky reader of ours will grab a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note, the international version powered by an Exynos processor, to be more specific.

Nokia Lumia smartphones getting Nokia Drive 2.0, Reading, Transport apps

Nokia Lumia smartphone owners, we have good news for you. At MWC 2012, Nokia announced that a couple of new Windows Phone apps will be made available to all existing Lumia handsets. Furthermore, a Nokia Drive 2.0 update is to be released as well adding a whole bunch of new useful features.

Google will "double down" on Android tablets in 2012

Google will not only continue pushing Android tablets, but it will “double down” on its efforts in 2012, head of Android Andy Rubin said in a meeting with reporters at MWC.

While sales of Android phones are booming, tablets are gettiing a lackluster reception from useres. Android tablet sales stood at 12 million in total so far, paling in comparison to 15 million iPads sold in Q4 2011 alone. 

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1) Hands-on Review

One of the more intriguing newly-announced tablets by Samsung is the Galaxy Tab 2 (10.1). So, what's the thing about this device? Probably one of the most important things we should note right away is that it's actually not a direct successor to the original Galaxy Tab 10.1. Instead, it's a slightly more affordable product, having its specs downgraded just a notch. But let's start with the looks of it.

Android activations hit 850,000 daily, over 450,000 apps now in the Android Market

Android activations have been climbing at a mind-boggling pace and now they’ve hit another milestone - 850,000 Android devices are activated each day, Andy Rubin heading Google’s mobile platform announced as MWC 2012 rages in full force, bringing us heaps of new Android devices. This means that there are over 300 million Android smartphones across the globe.

Asus Padfone slides into a tablet screen with its slim body, 4.3" Super AMOLED display and Snapdragon S4 silicon

ASUS lifted the veil over its long-awaited redesigned 9.2mm thin Padfone at the MWC, the one it teased with the Matroska dolls video a few days ago. 

Sporting a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display, Snapdragon S4 with the new Adreno 225 GPU, and 8MP camera with LED flash and f/2.2 aperture, as well as 16-64GB of internal storage plus microSD slot, it has what we would expect from a modern high-end.

ZTE PF112 HD, PF200, N91, and more Android smartphones announced at MWC 2012

Wow, the guys at ZTE are announcing smartphones by the bucketful. Along with the ZTE Era and ZTE Orbit, which we wrote about already, the company showed off a plethora of other handsets during its MWC 2012 press conference. The ZTE Mimosa X was also among the bunch and we are already familiar with it, but the remaining devices are entirely new.

So, where shall we start? The ZTE PF112 HD comes with HSPA connectivity and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It flaunts a 4.5-inch display with 720p resolution, 8-megapixel camera, and 8 gigs of on-board storage.

ASUS Transformer Pad 300 Series unveiled: Tegra 3 tablet on a budget

Asus Transformer Pad 300 is the most affordable Asus gets with tablets without getting cheap: the TF Pad 300 drops the aluminum for plastic and the price dips a $100 below the Transformer Prime to $399.

It’s still a serious computing machine powered by NVIDIA’s quad-core Tegra 3 chip, but it’s slightly bulkier. The Transformer Pad 300 is 0.39” (9.9mm) thick and tips the scales at 22.4 ounces (635 g).

ZTE brings four tablets to MWC: quad-core PF 100 and T98, high-end V96 and affordable V9S

ZTE is not just announcing new products - the company has exploded with 8 new handsets and 4 new Android tablets, releasing devices as if they were chewing gum. Not that we mind - there are two quad-core tablets for starters, a dual-core Qualcomm powered and a low-end dual-core tablet. Yes, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm chip now goes for low-end.

Nokia Lumia 610 Hands-on Review

A heavily rumored handset, the Nokia Lumia 610 was finally announced today here at MWC 2012. As expected, the 610 is the first real budget-friendly Windows Phone, expected to retail for about $255 (EUR 189), which is pretty decent for a Windows Phone, as long as there's not too much compromise with the performance of the device.

Nokia 808 PureView Hands-on Review

Alright, so here it is, probably the last (or one of the very last) Symbian smartphones ever – the Nokia 808 PureView. And boy is this an epic way for Symbian to exit the industry!

What do we mean here? Well, first of all, the Nokia 808 PureView comes to succeed the N8 – the smartphone that kind of set the new benchmark for camera phones when it came out. Well, interestingly, the still largest handset manufacturer by volume seems to be aiming even higher this time by introducing a handset with a camera which has not 12, not 16... but an enormous 41 megapixels! Sounds pretty wicked, we know.

Panasonic ELUGA Power steps in, sports 5-inch display, Snapdragon S4 processor

And just like that, the Panasonic ELUGA Power has been made official becoming the second Android smartphone in the company's ELUGA lineup. Just like recent rumors suggested, it is a premium Android handset, and by the looks of it, the ELUGA Power will rival devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note and the LG Optimus Vu. That is because its front is occupied by a massive 5-inch display with a resolution of 720 by 1280 pixels. Inside it we see a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, so performance is expected to be top notch. And that is not bad for a device with a waistline of just 9.6 millimeters.

Adobe Photoshop Touch lands on iPad

After a long, long wait since we first heard rumors about the Adobe Photoshop Touch, the version of Photoshop made for tablets, it’s finally landed on the iPad. Adobe first released a suite of applications including Photoshop Touch for Android.

Adobe Photoshop Touch arrives on the App Store with a price tag of $9.99, just as much as on Android. With that in mind, check out a list of all its features:

ZTE Era quad-core monster phone announced: 4.3” display, razor thin body

ZTE has just joined the quad-core race with the ZTE Era: an impressive handset with a 4.3” screen and razor thin 0.31” (7.8mm) body. The Era is powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and under the hood the quad-core setup of the Nvidia Tegra 3 chip hums at 1.3GHz for each core.

The 4.3-inch screen comes with a decent resolution of 540x960 pixels, something that Tegra 3 paired with 1GB of RAM should run on buttery smooth. On the back, there’s an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of capturing 1080p video. Internal storage is limited to 8GB and there’s also NFC with the ZTE Touch and Share app.

ZTE Orbit makes an official debut: affordable mysterious Windows Phone

The ZTE Orbit has just made its official debut: the handset is another very affordable offer coming with the latest of Windows Phone (we hope for Tango). 

How do we know it’s affordable? It only comes with 4GB of internal memory. We also know that it has a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash on the back and supports HD Voice.

Skype for Windows Phone beta is now available

Microsoft has just announced that Skype for Windows Phone has finally landed on the Marketplace in its beta form, and it offers video calling, instant messaging and most other functions you’d expect. It is also making full use of the simplicity and cleanness of the Metro UI.

Voice calls on Skype for Windows Phone are supported not only over Wi-Fi networks, but also over 3G and 4G mobile networks. The app is well designed - while you’re in a call you just swipe to the left to get to the messaging window so you can simultaneously do both.

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon S4 "Pro" chip with Adreno 320 graphics

Qualcomm has just confirmed the Snapdragon S4 “Pro” which adds amazing graphics with Adreno 320 graphical core, building on top of the powerful 28nm Qualcom MSM8960 with Krait processor. 

The new S4 “Pro” chip patches the weakest spot of the first MSM8960 chips, which in the rush to the market only included Adreno 225 graphics. The new GPU will allow for higher resolution displays and bring a four-fold improvement in visuals. It will support the latest gaming engines from Unity (games on it include the Samurai series and Rocket Bunnies on iOS) and Epic (the Unreal Engine, powering titles like Gears of War). 

Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.2 portable Android media player is announced

Ladies and gents, introducing the Samsung Galaxy S WiFi 4.2 – the latest Android-powered portable media player to join the company's portfolio. Just like the rest of the gang, it delivers the versatility and software variety of the Android platform with cellular connectivity being the only thing omitted.

Few videos claim captured with the Nokia 808 PureView, looking good (and photo samples, too)

There have been a couple of YouTube videos that claimed they have been captured with the Nokia 808 PureView monster that was just announced. We can't disregard them any more, as the new cameraphone king turned out to be everything rumored and even more on top of the cake.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is finally official: S Pen supporting tablet

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 has just been officially confirmed and it’s as real as you imagined it - a 10.1-inch tablet with a dual-core processor and support for the S Pen. The S Pen support is actually what defines and will define the Galaxy Note series for Samsung. At the same time, Samsung will keep the Tab lineup for traditional no-stylus tablets.

Nokia Bluetooth BH-221 unveiled with OLED display and FM radio

Along with a bunch of new phones, Nokia sneaked in the new Nokia Bluetooth BH-221 stereo Bluetooth headset with an OLED display and built-in FM radio at MWC 2012. The addition of a single-line OLED screen allows you to know who’s calling or which radio station you’re tuned in to in a glance.

Nokia Lumia 900 goes international, starts shipping in Q2

As previously rumored, the Nokia Lumia 900 will be released outside of the U.S. in the near future. The announcement was just made during the Nokia press conference at MWC 2012. In April, the Nokia Lumia 900 will launch in Canada through Rogers and will be more or less identical to the AT&T version, with LTE connectivity and all.

Nokia Lumia 610 breaks cover: the most affordable Windows Phone

The Nokia Lumia 610 has finally officially broken cover and it’s the most affordable Windows Phone we’ve seen so far. It drops it a log but how does it do it? The Lumia 610 lowers the spec requirements on Windows Phone - it requires less capable processors and less RAM.

The Lumia 610 comes with a 800MHz processor, onl 256MB of RAM and a 5-megapixel camera. Low-end WP phones, for instance, will now also be able to ship with Qualcomm 7x27A chips and 256MB of RAM. 

Nokia 808 PureView will be the cameraphone to beat with whopping 41MP sensor, to arrive on Windows Phone too

UPDATE: You can view a few video and camera samples with the Nokia 808 PureView in our article here.

Nokia was expected to make a splash at MWC today with the announcement of entry level Windows Phone Tango handsets like the rumored Lumia 610, as well as a version of AT&T's Lumia 900 for the rest of the world.

Besides the news on the Windows Phone front, though, we were also expecting with baited breath something associated with the PureView brand, which all clues pointed to being a Nokia N8 successor with a giant camera sensor.

Nokia Asha family updated with Nokia Asha 202, Asha 203 and advanced Asha 302

Nokia introduced its Asha Series 40 feature phone family back at Nokia World, and now it’s getting a big refresh with three new handsets: the Nokia Asha 202, Asha 203 and Asha 302.

The Nokia Asha 202 and Asha 203 are in the middle of the Asha seres. They are extremely affordable, priced at just around $80 (60 euro) and shipping within a couple of weeks.

The Asha 202 and 203 are almost identical, except for the 202 being dual-SIM while the Asha 203 is a single-SIM device.

Samsung outs an energy efficient 8MP BSI camera sensor with zero shutter lag for smartphones

Guess what might be going into the Galaxy S III? Samsung announced a new 8MP smartphone camera module of its own, named  S5K3H7 that doesn't require a whole lot of energy supply, captures 1080p video, sports  back-side illumination for better low-light performance, and has virtually zero shutter lag.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Hands-on Review

One of the most interesting devices announced by Samsung at this year's MWC 2012 is the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. So, what's common between the original Note (5.3) and this new Note 10.1? Well, basically, we can say that the Note 10.1 is the tablet version of the Note 5.3 phone. The general concept behind the device is pretty much the same – to incorporate a special S-pen stylus that will let the user take handwritten notes and draw on the screen.

MWC 2012 marks a trend of new design concepts from Android makers, which one do you like the most?

What is forming to be a second major trend at MWC this year, besides the quad-core processors, is the excessive attention that is being given to design in the new Android phones from the major manufacturers.

This time around the new design paradigms don't only portray themselves in the high-end, high-margin handsets, but also trickle down to the mid-rangers and even the entry level phones of the new Android season.

Apple releases new iCloud ad; shows everything but the kitchen sync

A new Apple commercial for iCloud shows how easily and quickly things you do on your Apple iPhone 4S show up elsewhere in the Apple ecosystem with the technology. Features like email and Find my iPhone features are now covered under iCloud and are free. But that isn't even the focus of the ad. The spot shows how you can add an app to your handset and have it pop up on the Apple iPad. Photos, music and video can sync back and forth from your phone to your Mac or PC without a cable. As of last month, Apple had 85 million iCloud users.

Reason why AT&T's version of the HTC One X is not quad-core

We now know that the international version of the HTC One X will carry a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor while the AT&T version for the U.S. will not. The latter model will be powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor instead. On the other hand, the international model will have HSPA+ 42Mbps connectivity vs. the 4G LTE support for AT&T's model.

No Tegra 3 processor in this model

Siri competitor, Evi, getting the boot by Apple

Apparently when it comes to iOS virtual assistants, two’s a crowd. Earlier this year, Evi popped up in the App Store, offering an alternative to Siri for those who wanted a voice assistant, but did not own an iPhone 4S.

The $0.99 alternative managed to amass over 200,000 users in a short amount of time and received very positive reviews. While Evi could not perform all of the tasks that Siri can, such as create reminders and add calendar appointments, it did have some features that work better than Siri. One example that TechCrunch noted is when asking both assistance how to make an apple pie, Siri would just produce web results, while Evi would provide the user a recipe.

HTC One V Hands-on Review

In addition to the high-end HTC One X, mid-range HTC One S there is one more device HTC announced today. The HTC One V is the mid-range model, coming with a Super LCD  3.7” WVGA display aluminum chassis and single-core 1GHz processor. It will run Android 4.0 and will have Sense 4.0 on top of it straight out of the box. The camera is 5-megapixel one but will feature the same ImageChip dedicated processor as the rest of the One series device, leading supposedly to improved pictures. 

Orange to offer Android phone this summer, with Intel Inside

Intel, the company whose processors can be found inside 80% of the world's desktop computers and laptrops, is going after another market, this one more in demand by consumers. According to Reuters, this summer France Telecom's Orange mobile carrier subsidiary will be launching an Android powered smartphone in France and in the U.K. that will have Intel Inside. Orange has picked Taiwan-based Gigabyte to manufacture the device which will feature some of the carrier's proprietary software running on top of the Android OS.

LG Optimus Vu Hands-on Review

Well, it looks like the time has finally come for us to meet with the LG Optimus Vu, and we're definitely excited about this. What's so interesting about this Optimus Vu, you may ask? Answering this question is quite easy – this is a giant phone, it's simple as that. But, not only is the screen of the Vu giant, it also has this very unconventional aspect ratio of 4:3, making the Optimus Vu look like an iPad mini or something...

Facebook scoffs at claims it’s reading text messages

British newspaper, the Sunday Times, published a story today claiming that Facebook was reading user’s text messages via permissions built into the smartphone app. The publication went on to further accuse the social network giant of foul play be claiming that Facebook admitted to doing so in the name of research so it could develop its own messaging service.