Telstra has officially announced that the HTC 8X  will be available to purchase from the 4th December on their network.

The device will be initially available online, and hit stores by the 11th December. It will be available in Californian Blue and Graphite Black. The handset will also support Telstra’s 4G LTE network.

“It’s compatible with our national 4G service and features built-in ‘Beats Audio’ technology that gives great sound quality listening to music, playing games or watching video,” a Telstra spokesman noted. “It runs Windows Phone 8 with rich features like Live Tiles that let you see at a glance everything that’s going on without even opening an app.”

The handset is also expected to hit Optus in early December for $0 upfront on the $35 Optus Plan (minimum total cost over 24 months is $840).



Source: wmpoweruser

Microsoft has continued their Christmas-themed Windows Phone commercials, in this one concentrating on Live Tiles, and how it helps provide information at a glance to Santa, in particular that the number of good children has increased, and that toy production should also.



Source: wmpoweruser

Touchscreens are a relatively new addition to mainstream laptops, but they are quickly gaining traction. Once relegated to all-in-one desktops and niche slates, Windows 8 has practically made the touchscreen a must-have.

Now we are starting to see ultrabooks include touchscreens. To be classified as an ultrabook under Intel’s standards, a PC must meet certain requirements around battery life, performance, and thickness. They also have to use the Intel platform chips, but you knew that one already.

Most ultrabooks tend to be in the 11- to 13-inch range, where it’s easier to hit the ultra-thin guidelines. There are also a handful of 14-inch models, but Dell’s new Inspiron 15z is one of the first we’ve seen that uses a relatively large 15.6-inch screen.

Not only is this is a true 15-inch machine, it still has a built-in optical drive and can be equipped with an optional touchscreen, all while meeting the ultrabook requirements. This is impressive when you consider that a touch-sensitive panel is thicker than a standard LCD, in part due to the addition of the super-tough Gorilla Glass.

The Dell 15z comes in at just 0.82-inches thick with the standard display and 0.91-inches on the multi-touch version, with weight starting at 4.78 lbs. It has lots of high tech goodies like four USB 3.0 ports (one of which can charge your mobile device), gigabit ethernet, HDMI output, an 8-in-1 card reader, and a backlit keyboard. Being an ultrabook, all models include a 32GB SSD cache for the faster boot and loading times.

You can get the 15z Ultrabook starting at $699 with a Core i5 processor, but the multi-touch version starts at $849. They all, of course, come preloaded with Windows 8.

Apply coupon code 1BBBZLJSCTPSS3 for extra $50 stackable savings on all models.

Apply coupon code 07J3ZFPC$14XS$ to the 2nd-from-the-left Core i5 non-touch model for a $100 discount ($699.99 net price). This deal expires December 5th or sooner.



Source: extremetech

The iPhone 4S is pretty famous for its cracking front and back plate, and Nokia has decided to parody the device in their latest commercial for the Nokia Lumia 820 in Germany.



Writing in the video description, Nokia writes:

    Have to pack their smartphone in your cotton and protect against all odds, so that the touch screen is not going to break? Well, we have something for you … looks at what the Nokia Lumia 820 in the”laboratory test” endure so everything!

The Nokia Lumia 920 has been subjected to an impressive list of torture tests, and it seems Nokia wants the 820 to also inherit the reputation.

Source: wmpoweruser

Samsung has been slapped with a ban in The Netherlands on selling Galaxy devices running Android 2.2.1 related to Apple’s photo gallery “bounce back” patent. Samsung lost the case originally in 2011, and told the courts that they fixed the problem by changing their photo gallery app. The courts, however, wanted a statement from Samsung that it would no longer infringe on the patent, and Samsung didn’t hence…

From IDG:

A Dutch court has banned sales of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy products that infringe on an Apple patent describing a way to scroll through a photo gallery using a touchscreen.

The ban only applies to Galaxy products that run Android 2.2.1 and higher that don’t use Samsung’s proprietary photo gallery software, the Court of The Hague ruled on Wednesday.

Apple patented a way to scroll past the edge of a zoomed-in photo and see a glimpse of the next in a series of images, after which the initial photo bounces back onto the screen, a technique that Samsung has used in its Galaxy products. Samsung’s proprietary photo gallery software replaces that bounce-back feature with a “blue flash” that illuminates the edge of the image.

The ruling in the Netherlands against Samsung last year seems pretty straightforward, and Samsung said it would/did fix it. However, what appears to have angered the courts—and led to the ban and fine announced today—is Samsung’s unwillingness to sign a “declaration of abstinence” regarding the disputed patent:

The argument raised by Samsung at the hearing that Samsung Benelux does not sell the infringing products any more, cannot lead to a rejection of the ban,” wrote judge Peter Blok, who presided over the panel of three judges in the verdict. Blok said he would grant the ban because Samsung refused to sign a declaration of abstinence committing to not infringing the patent.

For the penalty phase, not only does Samsung face the sales ban, but also much disclose to Apple the profits it made since June of last year and if they don’t comply be fined 100,000 euros a day:

    The court ordered Samsung to tell Apple how much net profit it made from sales of infringing Galaxy products since June 27, 2011. A separate court procedure will determine how much of that profit Samsung must pay Apple.

    If Samsung continues to infringe on the patent, it has to pay Apple a penalty of 100,000 euros (US$129,000) for every day it violates the ban, the court ruled.

Source: iphonehacks

While surfing the Internets on our mobile device, we've all come across something we want to save for later reading, as we are just too busy at the moment looking for something else, or having to engage the real world beyond our smartphone or tablet.

There are a number of apps that help in these situations, allowing us to amass a list of articles and media for later display, when the pace around us is not as hectic.

Some of them integrate seamlessly with the browser, others even with the Android interface shell itself, and we are rounding up a few of the best that let you go back to review the interesting stuff we come across the web every day, but not always have time to absorb fully.



Source: phonearena

The Meizu MX2 has become official today, just as previously expected. The device comes with a new MX5S chipset with four 32nm Cortex-A9 CPU cores, 2 GB worth of RAM, a 4.4" screen of WXGA resolution (1280 x 800 pixels) with the impressive ~347 ppi density. There's also a faster GPU and Flyme 2.0 on top of Android Jelly Bean on board.

The Meizu MX2 will hit the shelves in China in the middle of December in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions. They will cost $400, $480 or $640 respectively or ¥2,499/¥2,999/¥3,999. It remains unclear if the MX2 will launch globally and when.
The Meizu MX2 has borrowed many design cues from its predecessor's, but instead of a physical home button there is a capacitive one this time. The display on the Meizu MX2 has really thin bezels around it (3.15 mm), giving the smartphone an even more impressive look.



Source: gsmarena

The breakneck pace of change in the smartphone world is well known: Since the iPhone catalyzed popular demand in 2007, development has been moving faster and faster, to the point where devices are out of date mere months after their release. However, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, according to some estimates, the smartphone is actually all of 20 years old, as of last Friday.

The IBM Simon was rolled out on Nov. 23, 1992, at Comdex, though it was code-named “Angler” at the time. You likely couldn’t have fit it in your pocket, given that it was about the size of today’s Nexus 7, but then, at 18 ounces in weight, it probably would’ve made you walk funny anyway. It sported a 16MHz processor, 1MB of memory and 1MB of storage. Its operating system was a variant of DOS.

Its external app ecosystem consisted of exactly one program—a PC-to-Simon texting tool called DispatchIt, which cost $3000 for the PC software and an additional $300 for every Simon client. To be fair, however, it could do some things modern smartphones can’t, like accept fax transmissions.

As primitive as Simon looks today, however, it was still recognizably a smartphone—it used an app drawer, had touch-screen input (admittedly, in monochrome and with a stylus) and was even sold via the same subsidized pricing scheme commonly used today, at $900 with a new two-year deal from BellSouth Cellular.



Unfortunately, Simon wasn’t a commercial success—according to Bloomberg, it was plagued by half-hearted marketing, short battery life and a host of other problems, and spent a total of six months on the market before being yanked.

Still, despite all that, Simon was undeniably the forerunner of today’s smartphones. What’s more, it’s a great reminder of how far the technology has come in two decades, and how fast it continues to develop. Just think of Simon the next time you complain that iOS 6 is terrible or that you haven’t gotten an Android update for a whole month.

Source: pcworld

In case you didn’t know, it is possible to see the signal strength indicator in numbers instead of signal bars on any iPhone (except the original iPhone) without jailbreaking it and it’s reversible.  It has been one of the old hidden features that works on the iPhone running iOS 4.1 or later.

It’s a lot more useful to see the signal strength indicator as a number [in decibels(dBm)] rather than as a signal bar (after we explain how to read the number a little bit later).


The trick is to enter the Field Test mode on the iPhone and use the trick to force quit an app to exit it.

Here’s how to change the signal strength indicator with a number rather than a signal bar:

    Launch the Phone app
    Dial *3001#12345#*
    Then tap on the Call button, which will launch the Field Test app (or enter the field test mode). You’ll also notice that the signal strength indicator has switched to a number from the traditional signal bar.
    Now hold the Power button until the red slider (slide to power off button) appears.
    Release the Power button and press the Home button until the Field Test app quits

That’s it. You’ll notice that the signal strength indicator continues to be displayed as a number. You can now tap on the indicator to toggle between the signal strength bar and number. You can revert the changes by restarting your iPhone entering the field test mode again and exiting the app as you do normally.





Source: iphonehacks

Samsung has announced that sales of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 have topped the five million mark just two months after the device went on sale in regions around the globe. Sales should not slow down either as the Verizon model of the Galaxy Note 2, maybe the most sought after variant of the device in the United States is set to debut in just a few short days.

The announcement comes courtesy of Samsung itself who says worldwide sales of its new 5.5-inch Galaxy Note 2 phablet have exceeded 5 million sales, passing the three million mark record that the original Galaxy Note set back when it was released last year.

Samsung’s feat comes shortly after it announced that the Galaxy Note 2 had topped three million in sales. The new figure was likely buoyed by the Galaxy Note 2 launch on AT&T earlier this month and its previous launches on Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular. It also likely has been bolstered by the fact that the device was available ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.


Verizon has yet to announce a release date for the Galaxy Note 2 though pre-orders are expected to ship out tomorrow with a full-on release taking place on November 29th. Thus far, the carrier remains mum about any specifics though we expect it to detail the device’s details tomorrow.

The carrier boasts the largest 4G LTE network, the network that the Galaxy Note 2 runs on, which should make for a few more sales. Verizon’s 4G LTE network now has over 400 markets in the U.S., far larger than AT&T’s network which has slightly over 100.



The Galaxy Note 2 is Samsung’s sequel to the original Galaxy Note phablet which met great success last year when it launched amidst skepticism. Many wondered whether a smartphone with this large of a display could succeed. The Galaxy Note went on to sell more than 10 million units worldwide. The Galaxy Note 2 looks poised to shatter that mark.

Source: gottabemobile

Samsung has published a detailed video highlighting all the new features that will come with the Android 4.1 upgrade on the Galaxy Note 10.1. The Premium Suite upgrade that is available in Germany and will soon be rolled out in many regions will have features like improved S Pen and S Note app, Multi Window, Air View, Easy Clip and lots more.



Source: sammyhub

The above video shows a brief demo of Windows Phone 7.8 on the Nokia Lumia 510, released in China recently.

The update of course brings the new start screen, but also new accent colours, Bing lock screen wallpaper, and on Nokia handsets SMS drafts and the ability to keep WIFI active when the device is suspended.

There are also rumours of the ability to send files via Bluetooth File Transfer, unfortunately not demonstrated.

The update is currently rumoured for release in the next few weeks.



Source: wmpoweruser

Huawei is going to release their own Windows Phone running device, while keeping the costs for it at a very affordable level, as we are used with the manufacturer about now. The device as posed in front of the camera for a few times now but never has it been seen on video. Fortunately for us, we are able to enjoy a first look with the upcoming handset.

Huawei Ascend W1 feaures a dual-core Snapdaragon S4 hardware configuration and is running the latest iteration of the OS from Microsoft – Windows Phone. While expecting the handset to be available for just $200, we can’t overlook the rather dissapointing 480 x 800 pixels resolution, for the 4.0 inches display. It is apparently the only major downside of the smartphone.

Other then the above mentioned, the Ascend W1 includes a 5 MP rear camera, 4 GB of internal memory and 512 MB RAM with the Adreno 225 GPU. There are the usual connectivity features, including WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. The device is expected to be unveiled by the end of the year.



Source: gsmdome

The Chinese version of the Nokia Lumia 920, the TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA 920T, has once again been leaked on camera.

The handset is essentially the same externally as the NL 920, but internally is said to feature the upgraded Adreno 320 GPU with up to 3 times the performance of the current chipset. some pictures have however leaked of a prototype device with the normal GPU, so this change is certainly not written in stone.

The handset is destined for China Mobile and may get there before the before Apple finally negotiates an agreement with the giant Chinese carrier.

See more pictures after the break.The Chinese version of the Nokia Lumia 920, the TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA 920T, has once again been leaked on camera.

The handset is essentially the same externally as the NL 920, but internally is said to feature the upgraded Adreno 320 GPU with up to 3 times the performance of the current chipset. some pictures have however leaked of a prototype device with the normal GPU, so this change is certainly not written in stone.

The handset is destined for China Mobile and may get there before the before Apple finally negotiates an agreement with the giant Chinese carrier.

See more pictures:



Source: wmpoweruser

Want LTE on your new Nexus 4? Well, you might have to move country. Unless it's some elaborate post-Thanksgiving hoax from our Canadian neighbors, several Telus customers have demonstrated that the LTE chip hiding inside the Nexus 4 does work, and have connected to some data speeds resembling a 4G connection. This was enabled through the test menu, accessed by dialing "*#*#4636#*".

Tapping on the preferred network type option, you can select either LTE on its own, or a mix of LTE, GSM and CDMA. According to the videos, the Google phone then taps into your carrier's LTE network if Band 4 is available, and you're good to go. We've so far been unable to replicate it in the UK, which doesn't use the same LTE Band 4 (AWS 2100 / 1700MHz) of Canadian carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus. We have also tested this with AT&T's LTE, but had no luck there either -- we tried it in a Band 17 area, not a Band 4 area (which is less common). This is, however, great news for T-Mobile customers as this is precisely the type of LTE they'll be getting very soon. But for now, there's two working videos already doing the rounds from Canada and we've included them both below.





Source: engadget

You know what the Microsoft Surface tablet has that the iPad doesn't? Everyone who answered "a full-sized USB port" deserves a thumbs-up! That notable feature lets the owner connect a USB thumb drive to the device or even hook up a keyboard and a mouse with the help of a USB hub.

Yet the guys at Channel Metro decided to take things to the next level and have some fun along the way. While checking out their Microsoft Surface tablet, they connected not one, not two, but 7 different gadgets to the device!

Actually, there were a total of 8 gadgets hooked up to the tablet, if we take the 7-port USB hub they used into account. The rest were a 2TB external hard drive, an HP printer, an iPod, a Nokia X3-02, an XBOX 360 controller, a 2GB USB thumb drive, and the receiver for a wireless mouse.

Check out the video below if you want to see the Microsoft Surface in action while listening to tech jargon in Italian!


Source: phonearena

As promised, Jolla has shown off its newly launched Sailfish OS today, and said that UI will be all about speed and multitasking, while also cutting down on the finger dancing required to use it. The experience will start from the homescreen, where users will be able to control music playback or end a call using a "pulley" menu system without needing to open the respective apps. The Finnish startup also said that "many" Android apps would run on Sailfish handsets without modification, though a simple port would be required for best operation. Jolla foresees the software running not only smartphones from hardware players like new partner ST-Ericsson, but also tablets, smart TVs and in-car systems, for instance. To see it for yourself, check out the official videos:



Jolla's Sailfish UI - Hands-On Preview

Sailfish OS demoed on N950 [Jolla on N950]

Source: engadget

About three months after we first told you about its existence, Archos’ Arnova-branded FamilyPad has finally been officially announced by the French company. In case the branding is confusing to you, know that Arnova is Archos’ even lower-cost brand, used for tablets that come with lower-end specs than those which get to use the Archos brand itself.

The FamilyPad’s main, and dare we say it most intriguing feature is that it comes with a 13.3-inch touchscreen. Thankfully, the retail package also includes the quick stand you can see in the second image below, making operating the huge tablet less of a pain we assume.
The screen sadly isn’t very high-res, at ‘just’ 1,280×800 resolution. That compares very badly to, say, the Samsung-made Google Nexus 10 and its 10-inch 2,560×1,600 unit. Then again, perhaps the FamilyPad’s target market won’t be very disappointed about that.

Video watching is surely one of the big use cases that Archos thought about when designing the FamilyPad. Granted, because of its size, it’s a tablet that’s a lot easier to ‘share’ with family members or friends, and it’s a lot less ‘personal’ – you hardly have any privacy while using it, so it looks like Archos was mainly aiming at people using the FamilyPad together – at the same time even, playing board games, sharing pictures, or connecting to social networks.

The FamilyPad comes with a single-core 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of built-in storage expandable via microSD slot, two 2 MP cameras (one on the front, one on the back), Wi-Fi, HDMI out, microUSB, and a 3.5 mm headset jack. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Its dimensions are 262x171x12.5 mm, and it weighs 1.3 kg. The battery is rated at 10 hours of video playback time, but the exact capacity isn’t known yet.

The Arnova FamilyPad will become available in the UK sometime in December for £274.99. As is usually the case with Archos products, expect the tablet to be out in the rest of the big European markets around the same time, for around the same price. There’s no word yet on a possible release in the US and/or Canada, but we’ll let you know if we find out more.

The FamilyPad will certainly be laughed off by many as ‘too huge’ from the get-go. However, let’s not forget that the original Samsung Galaxy Note got the same treatment, and went on to become one of the Korean company’s best selling mobile devices. So perhaps bigger is always better in the mobile space after all.

The thing is, we’ll never know if this applies to tablets. At least we won’t find out because of the Arnova FamilyPad. It’s a nice effort, but it’s a grossly underpowered tablet for this day and age, and it runs a pretty old version of Android. So if people don’t buy it in droves (and they won’t), don’t blame that on its size. We’re still waiting for some manufacturer to push out a really top-spec 13-inch tablet. Then, and only then, will we be able to tell if this size has any future.





Source: unwiredview, arctablet

Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Update for the Galaxy Note II(GT-N7100) has been leaked.The firmware version is N7100XXDLJ2.The original version may be available at the end of december or in the beginning of January

Some of the Features of N7100XXDLJ2 are:

1.     Changes in Notification panel:new additons and it can also be customized
2.     New ink effect on Lockscreen

 Firmware Details

1.     Android Version: 4.1.2 – JZO54K (Jelly Bean)
2.     PDA: N7100XXDLJ2
3.     CSC: N7100OXADLJ2
4.     MODEM: N7100XXDLJ2

How to Flash:

1.     Back Up your Data
2.     Unzip the file downloaded
3.     Download Odin3 v3.04  and now Open Odin 3.04 
4.     Switch off your phone.After that Put your galaxy Note II phone in download mode by pressing and hold these keys together:Volume Down + Home + Power.A Warning! screen will show up, press Volume Up key to continue to enter Download Mode
5.     Connect Your phone to PC now and wait untill you get a yellow sign
6.     Click the PDA button in Odin and browse to open the N7100XXDLJ2.tar.md5,Do not make any other changes in Odin and make sure the Re-Partition option is not selected.
7.     Now press the start button to begin the flashing of firmware,when the flashing is complete your phone will automatically reboot,plus, you’ll get a PASS message (with green background) in the left-most box at the very top of Odin.
8.     If you encounter any issues with the firmware
9.     Boot into recovery mode (Home+power+vol up) 
10.     Choose to wipe/factory reset. (THIS WILL ERASE ALL OF YOUR DATA INCLUDING YOUR INTERNAL SD CARD!) 
11.     Then choose reboot and you should be good to go

Source: techkiddy

Our very own Lucas was affected by a bricked Nokia Lumia 920, and was forced to return it, and due to the shortage of NL 920s in Germany is currently Windows Phone 8-free.

If you are in the same situation there is now a way to rescue your handset by flashing it with new firmware.

The process is shown in the video above,and described in the text after the break.

    Download the following files:

    1. NaviFirmPlus 1.7

    2. Nokia_Care_Suite_5.0_2012.45.4.5

    Unzip NaviFirm to a directory of your choice.

    Install Nokia_Care_Suite_5.0_2012.45.4.5

    NaviFirm Directions:

    1. Run NaviFirmPlus executable

    2. Under Products window scroll down to Nokia Lumia 920 (RM-820)   *AT&T Only!!!

    3. Under Releases window choose 1231.2109.1242.1001

    4. Under Variants window choose your color, in my case for RED i was file (RM-820_NAM_ATT_US_VAR237330_V1_Red (059N5T7)

    5. Under files window make sure all the files are selected.

    6. Click the Download Button

    7. Wait for ALL the files to completely download, the FFU file will be 1.02GB in size.

    8. When complete, browse to: C:\ProgramData\Nokia\Packages

    9. Create a folder called Products

    10. Create a folder called rm-820

    11. You should now have a directory like: C:\ProgramData\Nokia\Packages\Products\rm-820\

    12. Browse to the NaviFirmPlus folder you extracted

    13. Open the FW folder and then the folder of the firmware you downloaded.

    14. Copy the entire folder contents and paste it into the C:\ProgramData\Nokia\Packages\Products\rm-820\ directory.

    Nokia_Care_Suite_5.0_2012.45.4.5 Directions:

    1. Launch Nokia Care Suite

    2. Click the Product Support Tool for Store 5.0

    3. Click File

    4. Click Open Product

    5. Choose RM-820 (Nokia Lumia 920)

    6. On the bottom left click Programming

    7. Click Recovery

    8. You should see the firmware you downloaded and copied earlier under the Properties field.

    9. Click Start

    10. The software will check the package contents, it will fail to find the phone, and ask you to reboot and give you a button to click retry.

    Phone Directions:

    1. Plug the phone into your PC

    2. Hold the Volume Down and the Power button, click RETRY on the Product Support Tools Window

    3. After you feel a vibration in the phone immediately release the Volume Down and the Power button and hold the Volume up button.

    4. Continue to hold the volume up button, you will see the software say "Rebooting"

    5. After about 15 seconds you will see a top NOKIA logo and the software will start flashing the phone.

Source: wmpoweruser

Chinese forum Tieba for some reason managed to get  their hands on a Verizon Nokia Lumia 822 and of course promptly decided to disassemble the device.

The tear down shows the rather plasticky construction of the device, and also reveals the location of the wireless charging coil and NFC sensor.

See the pictures after the break.

Drop tests are always fun and exciting to watch. And even if there's something inside us that subconsciously tells us that destroying expensive smartphones on purpose is wrong, we always end up watching yet another one starring this latest and greatest device. Well, here we are again, this time with a video of the LG Nexus 4 being dropped onto the cold, hard pavement.

The guys from the video show us two drops - the first one simulating a drop from the pocket, and the second one from the ear. Thankfully, the handset remained almost perfect after the first drop, with no significant scratches to ruin its fancy glass panels. However, the second, higher drop cause severe damage to the back panel. As you know, both the front and back of the Nexus 4 are make of glass, which contributes to the feel of the handset, but allows for easier shattering. That's what happened with the Google Nexus 4 after the second drop in this video. Still, whether due to a stronger glass, or just luck, the front side remained undamaged, and the touchscreen and phone itself were perfectly usable.

This drop test comes to show us that LG has done a good job with the construction of the Nexus 4, as it is capable of surviving the ordinary everyday hits of life, though it's definitely not in rugged territory with those large glass surfaces.

And here's the video in question. Unfortunately, the guy talks in German, but it's one of those videos where you don't need to understand what's being said to know what's going on.


Source: phonearena

Virgin Mobile has announced that its customers can now get their hands on the Galaxy S II 4G, the predecessor to the wildly popular Galaxy S III smartphone. With this new addition, users can finally get 4G access on the Virgin Mobile network starting at $35 per month. This comes after repeat requests from users who asked for better phone options, as well as 4G.


The Galaxy S II 4G is now available in Titanium in addition to white. The handset is priced at $369.99, and can be used as a mobile hotspot for an additional $15 per month. You can nab the Virgin Mobile version of the Galaxy S II 4G from the carrier itself or from a retail store; you’ll have to head over to Radio Shack, however, if you want the Titanium version.

Virgin Mobile USA’s Director Mark Lederman offered this statement. “[The] Samsung Galaxy S II adds tremendous value to Virgin Mobile’s all-smartphone lineup. Coupled with our affordable unlimited data & messaging plans starting at just $35 per month, this is an ideal package for those who think they have to go to postpaid carriers for the hottest devices and to save money.”

The Galaxy S II 4G features a 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display. Inside you’ll find a 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos processor. There’s an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera, as well as a microSD card expansion slot that supports up to 32GB. The handset features Bluetooth 3.0 and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Source: slashgear

While the humble touchscreen has become the standard interface for most smartphones, and capacitive displays make it a painless experience, the folk at start-up Qeexo think things could still be improved. It's developed a technology called FingerSense that could add even more functionality. Essentially, by using a small acoustic sensor, it measures the vibrations as objects tap the screen, and can tell the difference between them. So, for example, a knuckle tap could be used for "right-click." The tech is able to spot the difference between materials, too, so even when no finger is involved, it can register input, a great assistance to those with longer fingernails. The fun doesn't stop there, though, with the demo video after the break showing a Galaxy SIII with a modified display, able to register stylus input, even without official support for it. More input options can never be a bad thing, and if nothing else, it could certainly make those GarageBand drumming sessions a little more interesting.


Source: engadget

I9100XXLSJ Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy SII has been leaked.This version is nearly perfect and stable and it will be officially released by Samsung very soon.

 Features in the New Jelly Bean Update

1.     Performance increases
2.     More Stability
3.     Same User Interface as that of Samsung Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II
4.     Samsung Cloud Services
5.     New Notifications Bar
6.     Google Now
7.     Additional Widgets from Samsung Galaxy SIII
8.     Direct Call, Smart Stay and Pop-up Play Features
9.     2 Home screen modes

Firmware Details:

1.     Android Version: 4.1.2 – JZO54K (Jelly Bean)
2.     PDA: I9100XXLSJ
3.     CSC: I9100OXXLS1
4.     MODEM: I9100XXLS6

 How to Flash:

1.     Back Up your Data
2.     Unzip the file downloaded
3.     Open Odin 3.04 Put your galaxy SII phone in download mode by pressing and hold these keys together:Volume Down + Home + Power.A Warning! screen will show up; press Volume Up key to continue to enter Download Mode
4.     Connect Your phone to PC now and wait untill you get a yellow sign
5.     Click the PDA button in Odin and browse to open the CODE_I9100XXLSJ.tar,Do not make any other changes in Odin and make sure the Re-Partition option is not selected.
6.     Click the phone button in Odin and browse to open the MODEM_I9100XXLS6.tar,Do not make any other changes in Odin and make sure the Re-Partition option is not selected.
7.     Click the CSC button in Odin and browse to open the CSC_HOME_OXX_I9100OXXLS1.tar,Do not make any other changes in Odin and make sure the Re-Partition option is not selected.
8.     Now press the start button to begin the flashing of firmware,when the flashing is complete your phone will automatically reboot,plus, you’ll get a PASS message (with green background) in the left-most box at the very top of Odin.

Source: techkiddy

Hitting store shelves just ahead of the Windows 8 launch, the new Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse ($70) has been designed to accompany the raft of new and upcoming Windows 8 touch-based tablets. However, it will also work just as happily with Android tablets as well as Apple’s Mac computers pairing over Bluetooth. Electronista has had some hands on time with the Wedge Touch Mouse using it with the Microsoft Surface RT tablet we recently reviewed.

If you ever wanted to try out that innovative Android tablet launcher Chameleon, now is the time. The price just got slashed to $3.99 from $9.99, which, apparently seemed a lot to many, as app prices go these days, regardless of how much developer effort went into creating it.

The widget-based launcher makes the most out of the larger screen real estate on Android tablets, and is somewhat of a playground what can be done with the interface there.

Google is certainly starting to focus more on its tablet proposition, recently asking developers to step it up, in light of the affordable Nexus slates it came up with, the Nexus 7, and the high-res Nexus 10, aiming to expand the tablet ecosystem through low prices, as it can hardly compete with the iPad on the number of tablet-oriented apps right now.

The original Chameleon project backers paid ten bucks on Kickstarter to keep it moving, so they might feel a bit irked now that the price is four, but should find some solace knowing that their sacrifice is for the greater good.



Source: phonearena

It looks like Huawei’s Windows Phone 8-related plans are similar to those of Nokia and HTC – which have introduced two WP8 handsets each (a high-end model, and a more affordable one).

We’ve already seen Huawei’s Ascend W1, which should be its affordable Windows Phone 8 device. And now photos of an alleged Huawei W2 have showed up.

The W2 seems to be Huawei’s flagship WP8 handset. It certainly looks high-end, and we can see it has an 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash. Unfortunately, the rest of its features are not known. But I assume the display is an HD one, and its processor a dual core unit.

Google is striving hard to create its own niche in the Chromebook gadgets market. Priced at $199 it is available in the market right now.

Google has been consistently insisting on the Chromebook operating system, and with Samsung, its attempt has become successful. The Samsung Chromebook is available in $249, but the Acer Chromebook has given it a strong competition with $199. Apart from this to get hold of the market even more, the Acer C7 Chromebook is giving fascinating goodies away.

The specs

Weighing only 3.05 pounds the Acer C8 Chromebook is only an inch in thickness. It has a sleek ultrathin appearance with an advanced Celeron processor from Intel. It is intriguing to note that the hard drive has a memory of 320GB along with 8 GB of memory.

What is more?

Google is giving 100 GB of free storage space in the cloud if you purchase it right now. It is also giving 12 Gogo internet pass free of cost.

Google Play Store, Currys, PC World and Amazon UK are the places where you can look for your own Acer C7 Chromebook. Therefore, isn’t these offers worth paying for!

The Q190 desktop offers an optional Blu-ray disc drive, 7.1 surround sound, and full HD graphics which, along with a built-in mini-keyboard, mouse, and wireless remote, let it serve as an entertainment center.
The latest generation of the IdeaCentre comes equipped with an Intel Core i3 processor, and Lenovo claims it operates 80 percent faster than the Q180. The Q190, which will be released in January, starts at $350 and comes equipped with Windows 8 Pro.

New C-Series all-in-ones

Lenovo also unveiled on Thursday seven new additions to its C-Series all-in-ones.

The 18.5-inch C240 and C245 start at $350. The C240 is equipped with an Intel Celeron processor, while the C245 runs on an AMD E2 dual-core processor.

Lenovo believes the audience for these PCs is looking for smaller PCs for kids or a PC to fit into a tiny space. Both the C240 and the C245 will be available in November.

Lenovo will release five additional C-Series models equipped with Windows 8—the C340, C440, C540, C345, and C445—in January.

These PCs come in varying sizes, ranging from 20- to 23-inch displays, and prices, which range from $500 to $550.
The C340, C440, and C540 run on Intel Core i3 processors supporting Nvidia GeForce 615 2GB graphics. The C345 and C445 have AMD E2 dual core processors with AMD Radeon HD graphics. The latter two also come in metallic red.

The new C-Series additions all come equipped with 8 GB of memory, the Lenovo Education Portal for kids, a 720p HD webcam, and Dolby Advanced Audio V2.

Lenovo has been trumpeting its touch-screen convertible PCs, which are designed to maximize the potential of Windows 8, but the company also wants to round out its product line with standard desktops like the IdeaCentre Q190.

Lenovo is battling HP for supremacy of the PC market. Research firm Gartner pegged China-based Lenovo at the top of the heap for the first time in October.



Source: pcworld