Mobile Devices - Page 165

With the Kindle Fire being based on Android, it can get the same viruses that are now beginning to creep into mobile devices world wide. Lookout Mobile, a company that builds anti-virus apps for Android just released its first app for Amazon's flagship tablet.

The app is the same as the standard Android version, but being that the Amazon does not allow the Google Play Store on the Kindle Fire, the company had to submit the app for approval before it became available in the Amazon App Store.

Once installed, the app will alert you to hidden viruses, and track the location of your phone remotely in the event your phone gets stolen, lost or otherwise indisposed. The app will also let you activate a "Scream" ringtone to help you locate the lost or stolen device.

If the current rumors are correct, it looks like chipmaker Intel will soon roll out their own virtual cable TV service and set-top box, with their only block left to achieve this is licensing hurdles.

Intel won't just blast out across the US instantly, instead they'll go city-by-city which will give the company more flexibility in working out licensing with content providers who aren't so open to a new player on the market. TechCrunch are reporting the news from a "video industry source".

This source is "directly familiar with Intel's plans and content dealings" has told TC that the chipmaker is very serious about jumping into the living room with consumers. The chipmaker are also tried to convince smart TV manufacturers to use their chips in the initial launch of Google TV a few years ago, but failed and are now trying to do it alone.

Specifications for an upcoming Motorola device, known as the Droid Razr M HD, have reportedly leaked out. The specifications seem almost too good to be true, so take them with a grain of salt. However, a device with these specifications do make sense for Motorola to release, so it is possible they are real.

No image or supporting evidence has been provided, just a text list of specs. According to Phone Arena, the specs are as follows:

Apple and Intel have a very interesting relationship, as Intel are the ones powering their Mac range of products now. Gone are the years of PowerPC-based Macs, Intel have come to the rescue with their Core range of processors.

Now this relationship is reportedly growing, where Intel are working with Apple for the Apple Smart Watch which should arrive in the first half of next year if the current rumors are anything to go by. There's no information on it, but there is the above concept design which should hopefully come close to the final design.

Apple's iWatch or whatever they decide to name it, would connect to another iOS-powered device like the iPhone in your pocket displaying something on the screen. Replace 'something' with a phone call, Facebook, iTunes or just the time - because, you know, it is a watch after all. Mobile Geeks' insider sources have talked some specs, which are speculation right now, where we would find a 1.5-inch RiTdisplay with OLED technology.

Archos have unveiled their latest tablet, named the 97 Titanium. The 97 isn't just there for looks, it represents the size of the screen if you add a dot in between the 9 and 7 for 9.7 inches.

Throwing the name to the side for a minute, it has some impressive specs. The 97 Titanium sports a 9.7-inch 2048x1536-pixel display with a pixel density of 264ppi, so we're getting into the fourth-generation iPad class here, folks. It packs a dual-core 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of on-board storage which is expandable via microSD cards.

A 5-megapixel rear shooter is in play, backed up with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Underneath all of this speccy goodness, we have Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Best of all, it doesn't look like Archos have spoiled the stock Jelly Bean look with their own UI splashed on top, which is actually quite impressive and gets a flicker of strong interest from yours truly.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Motorola and Google are working on an "X Phone" that will be released sometime next year. The "X Phone" looks to put competition to the likes of Samsung and Apple. As of late, the two companies have been increasingly hard to beat when it comes to market share and design.

An X Tablet is expected after the launch of the X Phone. The X Phone production will continue alongside of the development of Droid devices for Verizon and devices for other carriers. According to the WSJ, "Dennis Woodside, a former Google top sales executive who is now Motorola's chief executive, declined to discuss products under development. But he said in an interview that the company is 'investing in a team and a technology that will do something quite different than the current approaches.'"

Motorola has run into difficulties with the device when they tried implementing a flexible screen and ceramic materials. Google is taking the Apple approach with Motorola by trying to more closely merge software with hardware. We have already seen examples of this with the Nexus line of devices, and should see next year the fruit of their labor on the "X Phone."

The rumor mill likes to spit out whispers of cheaper Google Nexus 7 tablets every now and then. This time the word comes from a member of the supply chain. O-Film Tech, an Asia-based display component maker, has said that it has began shipping parts for the cheaper Google tablets.

Glass-Glass Film, the companies touch screen technology is said to be featured on the cheaper Nexus 7's. This equates to lower production cost and a thinner device which could retail for $99, but not at first.

Speculation is for the tablet to retail initially somewhere in the $129 to $149 range. Rumors that 500,000-600,000 of these cheaper Nexus 7's could ship within the first 3 months are also being overheard. ASUS which manufacturers the Nexus 7 for google, is also rumored to be developing an afordable tablet as well which might make an appearance at CES.

Nokia and Microsoft have pushed out an over-the-air (OTA) update to AT&T Lumia 920s and 820s. The new update is a pretty important OTA update, with the companies saying that it will help Bluetooth reliability and connectivity, bolster Nokia Messaging, improve start-up performance, and update battery management.

Currently, you'll have to be on AT&T or Canadian's Rogers to get the update, though Nokia insists that they are "working with our operator partners in all regions to ensure the highest quality experience in every market." They add that they are "working closely with Microsoft...to deliver these updates to other markets in early February 2013."

So, if you have a Lumia 920 or 820 on another carrier, you have another 2 months, or so, to wait until you get these same improvements. Of course, you're highly encouraged to download the OTA update if you can as the fixes and updates are pretty significant.

Nokia aren't doing huge things in the market these days, and while they've launched their latest Lumia devices, they aren't touching the sales of the iPhone or Galaxy devices. This latest rumor is sparking some interest, where the talk is that the company have entered into an agreement with ODM Compal, Microsoft and Qualcomm for a 10-inch tablet.

This 10-inch slate would run Windows RT and would be exposed to the world at Mobile World Congress in February next year. The above image shows off a mockup that Nokia Lumia Tabs showed off in 2011, and there have been reports from DigiTimes that Nokia wanted to release a 10-inch tablet this year, but had to push these plans into 2013 because of Microsoft's Surface RT slate.

With Qualcomm being involved, we should expect the Snapdragon S4 Pro to be the SoC of choice in the Nokia 10-inch tablet, which should give it some powerhouse performance. If Nokia can make it look great, perform well, and most of all - price it very, very competitively, Nokia could be back in the game in no time. If Nokia were to release it at, let's say, $399, it would be a huge contendor to the iPad and Nexus 10.

Google's Nexus 4 smartphone is one of the best smartphones on the market, and if you're lucky enough to get one, you treasure it. But, stock has been so up and down lately, and it looks like Google just can't get enough of them into consumers' hands.

Google UK and Ireland Managing Director Dan Cobley took to his Google+ page to explain what has been happening, where he blamed LG on their "scarce and erratic" supplies to Google, admitting that their communication had been flawed. Cobley took it a step further personally offering "an unreserved apology" to Nexus 4 buyers, calling the delays "unacceptable", and he has promised to work "through the nights and weekends" to resolve the issue.

There should hopefully be some shipments heading out before Christmas, and for the full statement from Cobley, read below:

Fans of over-sized phones will be happy to hear that Samsung's Galaxy Note III will come with a huge 6.3" screen. That is almost an entire inch larger than its predecessor, and over an inch larger than the original Galaxy Note.

For comparison, a Nexus 7 tablet is only 0.7 inches larger and the new iPad Mini a mere 1.25 inches larger. Samsung has not released any other specification on the Galaxy Note III but we know that it will sport an Organic Light-Emiting Diode (OLED) display. Moving to an OLED will cut power consumption, improve pixel density, and color vibrancy will be much better.

Researchers from ABI Research say that we are in the beginning of what has been dubbed the "Phablet" era, with Phablet being a cross between Phone and Tablet. Researchers are estimating that "Phablet" sales will broach the 208 million mark by 2015, with the driving source being people who want the full tablet experience but do not want to carry around their phone and tablet. "The larger screen sizes make a significant difference to the user's experience when compared to conventional-sized touch screens between 3.5 to 4 inches." said ABI analyst Joshua Flood.

Stand alone MP3 players have all but gone the way of the dinosaurs with the surge of smart phones that have built in MP3 playback. The problem for this is most of us like to listen to our tunes while we work out or do other activities where large smart phones get in the way. Samsung has just launched the new Galaxy Muse MP3 player that should solve this problem.

The Galaxy Muse pairs up with Galaxy smart phones, allowing one to use their purchased music during times when a large smartphone is not ideal. Users simply have to sync the Muse with their Galaxy smartphone eliminating the need for a PC to sync with.

Measuring in at 1.7 inches tall by 1.25 inches wide and weighing a mear .48 ounces, the Galaxy Muse will fit comfortably almost anywhere. Unlike most small portable MP3 players the Muse requires no special case to attach it to your clothing thanks to a small clip on the back side. In addition the Muse offers 4Gb of storage space to hold your entire workout music collection! The Galaxy Muse is available now and is offered in white or blue to match your new Galaxy S III.

Samsung are going to roll on with a great 2013, as the Galaxy S IV is already being teased to sport an unbreakable display. The news comes from Reuters, who reports that Samsung "is likely accelerating the launch of it's next-generation flagship Galaxy smartphone - which may come with an unbreakable screen".

The new phone has a cool codename of "Project J", after the mobile division chief JK Shin. Development of the Galaxy S IV could see the light of day in April, according to analysts and tech blogs, reports Reuters.

An unbreakable screen would surely set Samsung apart from the competition - which tout unscratchable screens sporting Gorilla Glass 2, or similar tech. The Galaxy S IV is also set to boast an even bigger display, 13-megapixel camera and a faster quad-core processor. Pixel density on the display should push numbers up to 441 pixels per inch (ppi), which is a massive improvement from the current Galaxy S III which features a pixel density of 306 ppi, and blows the iPhone 5's 326 ppi out of the water.

I've labelled this as a 'RumorTT' post, but in case you read past that - here's some salt, too. According to an Ingram Micro source, OS giant Microsoft could be forced to ask retailers and distributors to move a tonne of their Surface stock, which is said to be around three to five million units, that have all been rejected by consumers.

According to the source, Microsoft may be forced to pull a "HP" and sell millions of units at "ridiculously" low prices. If you remember, back in August last year, HP dumped thousands of their poorly received TouchPad's for just $99. Ingram Micro is a distributor of Microsoft products, and have said that the company are looking at multiple options to get the stock flowing.

What gives this rumor more credit is that Microsoft have been utterly silent on sales numbers for Surface, but on the same day Surface was unleashed to the world, Windows 8 was, too. Microsoft have been quick to talk up the Windows 8 numbers - so why not Surface? Unless it's not doing well, you'd want to rub it in your competitors' faces, wouldn't you? Analysts are claiming that if Microsoft were capable of manufacturing between three to five million units to sell in Q4 2012, they're going to have between two to four million left by the years end.

With supply constraints on the iPhone 5 finally easing for Apple Inc. (AAPL), there's no better time than now to debut the iPhone 5 to more than 50 additional markets throughout this month. With shipping delays easing from four weeks to just 2-4 business days, Apple could be on target for their best quarter, ever.

Suppliers are estimating that Apple could sell 45 million iPhone 5's in the Q4 2012 period alone - yes, 45 million. The news comes from DigiTimes' sources within the Apple supply chain, which is higher than the previous estimates of 40 million units.

These sources are some of the international wireless chipset suppliers, who are claiming the pull-in orders from Apple are going up. With some of the chipset suppliers revealing that their sales are likely to hit record highs in their fourth quarters. DigiTimes' sources have said "Taiwan-based IC backend service providers including Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL), Adentec and STATS ChipPAC arre also expected to perform better than expected in the fourth quarter, buoyed by orders from chipset vendors".

If you've got a Samsung Galaxy Note Ii and you're not impressed with its stock 3100mAh battery, then you do have yourself some options from Mugen Power.

The company have offered an extended battery that is a whopping 6400mAh beast, model number HLI-N7100XL. I wonder what the XL means? Nikolai Lebedovsky, marketing manager at Mugen Power Batteries has said that the company worked quite hard to jam pack as much power into the extended battery as possible.

The company's main goal was to keep its usability intact, but without the trouble of constantly charging, or walking around with a portable USB-powered charger:

The Nexus 4 has been one of the most popular devices released this year, selling out in minutes across the world - I was lucky enough to score one here in Australia and you can read our review on it here.

Well, it has been so popular that eBay has deemed the demand high enough that they're enforcing sales restrictions on the quad-core smartphone. These restrictions are normally places on hot items like the iPad or the Nintendo Wii, with the rules covering just how many phones a seller can list.

When Apple launched the iPhone 5 this past September, it ran into some production issues that kept its latest iPhone from the hands of its customers. For weeks now, the iPhone 5 has been a difficult device to purchase as retail Apple Stores barely had them in stock and shipping from Apple's online store kept the device from customers' hands for weeks.

It seems the iPhone 5 drought is nearly done with as it looks as though Apple has finally caught up with demand as AppleInsider conducted a poll of 20 U.S. Apple Stores to reveal the iPhone 5 is readily available for customers who wish to purchase them.

Not only that, but customers who prefer to receive their iOS devices via online shopping can now purchase their iPhone 5 from Apple's online store and have it ship out in about a week.

Black Eyed Peas star, Will.i.am, has just launched a new camera accessory for the iPhone, the "i.am+" accessory. The new i.am+ will be available as a £199 C.4 "contemporary" and £299 V.4 "vintage" models for the iPhone 4 and 4S. In USD, we're looking at around $318 and $478 for the C.4 "contemporary" and V.4 "vintage" models, respectively.

The V.4 "vintage" model sports a slide-out keyboard, which is what that extra $160 or so will give you. Both models use the existing iPhone camera and feature interchangeable lenses for standard, fish-eye, and zoom photo abilities, while the C.5/V.5 models for the iPhone 5 will arrive next year, but will sport a 15-megapixel sensor and flash.

When you think about what we do with our smartphones on a daily basis, it should be no surprise one of the activities American adults use their devices for has nothing to do with actually talking on their phone. Instead, Americans have been found to use their smartphones as a camera the most, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research.

The results of Pew Research's study were released this past Sunday and found 82% of Americans use their mobile devices to take pictures with 80% of users sending and receiving text messages.

The study was conducted by taking two surveys in the spring of 2012 and another during the summer. Aside from users using their mobile devices as a camera and to text other cell phone users, only around 56% of users accessed the Internet, 50% used their devices to send or receive emails and only 43% downloaded apps onto their phones.