Mihai Andrici | Droid News and Information Blog Roll

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May 1 2012

New leaked image of the Samsung Galaxy S3. Could it be the real deal?

As we get close to the official unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S3 – scheduled for May 3 in London at the Samsung Unpacked event – it looks like not a day goes by without a new leaked image of the smartphone surfacing on various channels.

Before we go into this one, I must urge you to note that the hype surrounding the S3 has reached levels known only by the iPhone in the past few years, and thus cautions for a bit of skepticism.

The image for today, published at SamMobile and sent in by an anonymous tipster (how convenient, right?) is very much on par with the last couple of supposedly leaked images of Samsung’s next member of the Galaxy S series. These leaks, in turn, seem to be on par with the sketch found inside the leaked user manual for a smartphone codenamed the GT-i9300 and expected to be the Galaxy S3.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Besides the photo depicting the design of the device, SamMobile have also published an image of the settings pages where GT-i9300 is written down as the model number. Ah, the plot thickens!

Samsung Galaxy S III

There are some that believe all this evidence could mean that we’re looking at the actual design of the Samsung Galaxy S3. On the other hand, some rumors claim that Samsung has sent out a few dummy cases for internal testing of the components inside. This rumor is fueled by the fact that all leaks show the S3 sporting a physical home button and two capacitive buttons, whereas Google recommends manufacturers to use the software buttons embedded in Android 4.0 ICS.

If these leaks turn out to be false, expect the Samsung Galaxy S3 to sport a design significantly different than the one depicted in the image above, or why bother sending dummy cases at all? Fortunately, we’re only two days away from learning the truth!

What do you guys make of it? Is this the real Galaxy S3? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!

NEXT: New Samsung Galaxy S3 image supposedly leaked. May 3, come already!

Bam! New Samsung Galaxy S3 image leaked along with full specs?

Samsung Galaxy S3 shows up for preorder. Is it for real?

This article, New leaked image of the Samsung Galaxy S3. Could it be the real deal? , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android News, Galaxy S3 Leaks, Samsung Galaxy S3 • 0

May 1 2012

Oracle, Google make their closing statements for phase one of their lawsuit

Phase 1: Copyright of the Oracle vs Google trial has ended yesterday with the closing arguments of both parties. After two weeks of intense court battle, it looks like this one could go either way, as both sides have made compelling arguments to support their claims. If you’re interested in learning further details regarding the lawsuit, you should read our timeline of the Oracle vs Google trial. What follows is a summary of the closing statements made by Oracle and Google attorneys.

Oracle: Google stole 37 of the Java APIs

The closing statement for Oracle, made by attorney Michael Jacobs, highlights that the email exchanges between Eric Schmidt, Andy Rubin, and Tim Lindholm (brought forward during the trial) clearly denote that Google officials were well aware of the fact that they needed to get a Java license from Sun in order to avoid legal issues. Oracle’s closing statement went on to mention that if you add extra content to copyrighted content, it’s still infringing. Jacobs also attacked Google’s fair-use defense claim: while Android might be offered for free, it is still designed with profit in mind. The revenue Android generates for Google was detailed in the trial, catch our coverage here.

Google: 9 lines of code out of 15 million

Google attorney’s Robert Van Nest closing statement focused once more on Google’s claim that the 37 APIs cannot be copyrighted, and was not shy of revisiting bits from the testimony of former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, who claimed Sun never considered suing Google as he felt Sun officials “didn’t feel we had any grounds”. In addition, probably the most compelling of Van Nest’s arguments are the mere 9 lines of code reported to be copied by Google. Contrastingly, the Android OS source code is made out of 15 million lines of code, so it would appear like Android did not rip off Java.

It remains to be seen how the jury will decide on the claims brought forward in the “copyright phase” of the Oracle vs Google trial. Next up is the “patent phase”, followed by the “damages phase” (but only if Google is found guilty of violating any of Oracle’s copyrights and patents).

We’ll be here to report further developments in this high-profile lawsuit as they happen.

NEXT: Oracle to ask around $100 million from Google over the Android / Java lawsuit.

A timeline of the Oracle vs Google trial

Oracle vs Google trial starts today, both CEOs to testify as witnesses

This article, Oracle, Google make their closing statements for phase one of their lawsuit , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • android, Android News, google, java, oracle • 0

May 1 2012

The definitive (rumor) guide to the Samsung Galaxy S3

Will it come with a hexa-core processor? How about a retractable screen with holographic display?

OK, so we know that not a day seems to pass by without some crazy rumor about the Samsung Galaxy S3. From memory, it’s hard to recall another Android phone that has received as much attention before it was even announced. For better or worse, it’s a clue that the next Galaxy phone is off to a good start. I mean it’s better to be overhyped than not to register on people’s radar at all, right?

Now we’re nearing the day when the vaunted device will finally be unveiled (for a precise countdown and the chance to win a Galaxy S3, visit our awesome giveaway page.) Some hard facts about the device are still under question, but that doesn’t mean that the information that we have so far is not reliable.

So, for your gadget lusting pleasure, we’ve compiled a list of the most reliable information about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S3. It’s all cherry picked from — what we believe to be — the more reliable sources (as reliable as they can get, anyway). Enjoy!

What to call the phone

You know, there was never any doubt in our mind that the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S2 will be called, well, the Samsung Galaxy S3. At least, that was the case until some rumors from UK came along, suggesting that Samsung will give up on its naming convention.

Fortunately, we’ve heard straight from Samsung’s vice-president, Robin Yi, that the device we’ve all been drooling over for a couple of months will indeed be known as the Samsung Galaxy S3. For now, it’s not clear though if Samsung will stick with the convention and use the S III form, or will change to the more readable S3. For simplicity, we’ll stick to the later version.

What it will look like

This one’s a tough one. Samsung took a page out of Apple’s cookbook and have managed not to let any pictures of the real Galaxy S3 to be leaked online. Granted, there are a bunch of supposedly leaked pictures of the S3, but it’s likely that all those leaks do not depict the actual design of the phone. It is well known that Samsung sent out smartphones with the internal specs of the S3 for testing, but packed in dummy cases.

Fortunately, though, there are a few leaks that seem to add up nicely:

A. The most recent of the “leaked” Galaxy S3 pictures has surfaced at Know Your Mobile and points towards a design not much unlike that of the Galaxy Nexus:

B. A “leaked” image of the S3 showed up at PhoneArena, bearing remarkable similarities to both the Know Your Mobile leak, as well as the sketch contained inside the leaked GT-i9300 (a phone presumed to be the Galaxy S3) user manual:

C. Here’s a photoshop render of the S3, based on the sketch inside the leaked user manual:

Given the fact that the Galaxy S3 will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, it’s unlikely that it will feature any capacitive buttons, as ICS places a row of software buttons at the bottom of the display. It would not be surprising if a hardware home button is all there is to the front of the smartphone (besides the display, of course). Other rumors claim that the S3 will feature a metal/ceramic case and that it will come in two color variants (white and blue-black).

What it will be packing inside

Packing some serious hardware? Check.

Although Samsung has been quite mum on the Galaxy S3, it did confirm that it will feature a quad-core Exynos 4 processor, most likely the Exynos 4412 SoC that Samsung has announced at MWC 2012. It is also believed that Samsung will use the same Mali-400 GPU as inside the Galaxy S2, but overclocked to 400MHz up from 266MHz.

As far as the display goes, we’ve seen rumors pointing towards a display size between 4.6 and 4.8 inches. The difference in size is not the most important thing, however, as many fans are expecting that the rumored 1080 by 720 pixel (non-Pentile) resolution to come true. At 4.6 inches with a 1080 x 720 resolution, the S3 could showcase a 281PPI pixel density, close to the density of the Retina display (316), although it’s safe to assume that Samsung will use the SAMOLED True HD tech in their next flagship smartphone.

Another rumor goes as far as to claim that Samsung will take HTC’s example and equip the US, LTE-enabled version of the Galaxy S3 with a Qualcomm S4 SoC. However, I find this unlikely as Samsung already uses its own LTE radio inside the Galaxy Nexus. HTC engineers were forced to take this step with the One X because the Tegra 3 SoC does not feature LTE connectivity.

Other rumored specs include

1GB of RAM
8MP / 12 MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash and 1080p video recording
Bluetooth v4.0
2050mAh battery
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Release Date

Back in March, Samsung announced that would will reveal the Galaxy S3 closer to its market availability. As the superphone will be revealed in just a couple of days, it should be safe to assume that the Samsung Galaxy S3 release date will come at some point in June. In addition, it is believed that the US release date will come before the start of the Summer Olympics 2012 in London, an event that Samsung is sponsoring heavily.

Will it meet expectations?

Unlike some, we don’t have unrealistically high expectations of the Samsung Galaxy S3, but we’re still pretty sure that the phone will kick some serious behind when it is revealed on May 3. Alleged benchmark results of the phone’s quad-core processor showed that it can play nice with the rest of the big boys — even beating them.

Though the Samsung Galaxy S3 may not be a life-changing phone, some solid specs and good design would be more than enough for us – and perhaps for many people as well.

Rumor Mill: Samsung Galaxy S3 Landing on March 13th?

Samsung releases Ice Cream Sandwich user guide for Galaxy S2

This article, The definitive (rumor) guide to the Samsung Galaxy S3 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android Phones, Rumors, samsung, Samsung Galaxy S3 • 0

May 1 2012

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 5: titan superphone deathmatch [rumor roundup]

It’s not that often that we cover anything related to the iPhone series, but, if you think of it, it is the best selling line of smartphones ever made. Under these circumstances, it does makes sense to compare the rumors that have been circulating about the next iteration of the iPhone series against the rumors regarding the upcoming beast of a device in the Samsung Galaxy S line. According to analyst expectations, these will be the two best selling smartphones of 2012, so why not subject them to a grueling rumor pit-fight?

While it does not mean that there aren’t at least a couple of other manufacturers that can produce even better smartphones (Motorola and HTC being two of my personal favorites), it’s the fight between the Apple and Samsung flagship smartphones of 2012 that will count the most towards shaping the future of smartphones as we know it.

First of all, it should be mentioned that the next Galaxy S is likely to be called the Galaxy S3, as some leaks seem to prove. On the other hand, the next iPhone is expected to be branded as the iPhone 5, iPhone 4G or as the new iPhone. I’ll refer to them as the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5 throughout the rest of this article.

Release Dates

The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be officially revealed on May 3 at the Samsung Unpacked Event in London and is expected to be released internationally around June. Many are basing this estimation on previous statements from Samsung officials that claimed that the official announcement of the smartphone will be made closer to its actual commercial availability. In the US, the Galaxy S3 is expected to arrive over the summer as Samsung will probably want the S3 to be available in as many countries as possible before the start of the summer Olympics in London in late July, an event they are putting a lot of money into as one of the main sponsors.

In the other camp, some credible sources claim that the iPhone 5 release date might come as late as October, due to the fact that the iPhone 4S is still selling very well, especially in some emerging markets where the iPhone has been launched for the first time. Being highly likely that Apple will want to milk the iPhone 4S cashcow for at least a full year, an October release date for the iPhone 5 seems to be the logical timing. The first 4 versions of the iPhone (up to the last model, iPhone 4S) were launched in June.

Design

Samsung has managed to keep the design of the Galaxy S3 very much a secret, and that is unlikely to change before May 3 when the smartphone will be officially released. That’s because all test units for the Samsung Galaxy S3 had a dummy case that did not reflect the actual design. Here’s one of these dummy cases:

This is a sketch that appeared in a leaked user manual for the Samsung Galaxy GT-9300, a smartphone that is believed to be the Galaxy S3:

As you would expect, there are quite a number of rumors regarding the design of the new iPhone, but all of them revolve around the same point: the iPhone 5 will sport a new design, probably something different enough to differentiate it from the two previous versions of the iPhone (4 and 4S), which were both (sadly, to the chagrin of many Apple fanatics) released with the exact same case. Some say that the iPhone 5 will be thinner – probably around 8mm thick – while some say it will be as thick as the 4S, but will sport a larger battery (and last only as long as the 4S due to reasons I’ll explain a little later). As far as construction materials go, some rumors claim that Apple will use Liquimetal (and make a lighter smartphone) while others claim it will feature a unibody design.

Display

Consumers have spoken - they love AMOLED display technology

It seems that as weeks pass, the rumored Galaxy S3 display size increases by 0.1-inches. It’s an odd thing, really. First there were rumors of a 4.6 inch display, then a benchmark result leaked a few days back seemed to point towards a 4.7-inch display, followed by the most recent of leaks, the leaked user manual that says the S3 will feature a 4.8 inch screen. The rumored resolution of the display is expected to be 720 by 1280 pixels (not accounting for the area of the display dedicated for the ICS soft buttons, if that will be the case).

As i’m sure you you may know, all previous versions of the iPhone – the original, 3G, 3GS, 4, and 4S, by their order of appearance – featured a 3.5 inch screen. While the number one motivation for using a 3.5 inch screen will always remain valid (at that size the thumb is able to reach all corners of the display), at some point Apple is bound to follow the reports claiming that most smartphone users actually prefer larger screens. It is possible that Apple will start following this trend sooner rather than later as the iPhone 5 is rumored to feature a 4 inch retina display.

LTE

ZDNET

According to a number of reports, the iPhone 5 will be the first Apple smartphone to include LTE-connectivity. As Apple have already used an LTE modem inside one of their products (the third generation iPad), it doesn’t seem that hard to believe, does it? That’s the reason why some believe the iPhone 5 will not be any thinner: to make room for a bigger battery that can sustain the higher power requirements of an LTE modem, a move Apple has already demonstrated with the “new” iPad 3.

As far as the Galaxy S3 is concerned, some unofficial reports claim that the S3 will actually come in two variants, one without an LTE modem, and one with a Snapdragon S4 SoC that will make use of the integrated LTE modem inside Qualcomm’s latest SoC (that also contains a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and an Adreno 225 GPU). The way I see it, the rumor above is inspired from HTC’s move with the One X. Why would Samsung decide to use a Qualcomm LTE modem if the one they produce seems to work perfectly well inside the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus? They are, after all, one of the largest chipmakers in the world. What remains to be seen is they have been able to make quad core and LTE play nice. Have they succeeded where NVIDIA failed? Time will tell.

Processor & GPU

Let me highlight a trend for you: the Apple iPhone 4 used the same Apple A4 processor as inside the original iPad in the same way that the iPhone 4S uses the same dual-core Apple A5 processor as inside the iPad 2. Hopefully, it’s easy to see why Apple is expected to equip the iPhone 5 with the same A5X processor as inside the new iPad (3d generation). Granted, that isn’t the biggest upgrade you can think of, but if the iPhone 5 will also feature the new iPad’s quad-core GPU, the bump in graphical performance can be considered an evolutionary leap. The quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU performs quite well at the impressive 2048×1536 resolution of the new iPad. As the iPhone 5 will surely have a much lower resolution, the graphical performance should be quite impressive.

Back in the Samsung camp, it was officially announced that the Galaxy S3 will use a quad-core Exynos processor produced by Samsung, clocked around 1.4GHz. In addition, one leaked benchmark result led many to believe that the S3 will feature the ARM Mali-400 GPU. Historically, Samsung’s Exynos line of CPU’s provide one of the best performance per power consumption ratios on the market.

Operating System

For those that like more than a basic app launcher, Android is the answer

The Samsung Galaxy S3 will run the latest version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the OS released by Google, while Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected to run iOS 6 (a version expected to be revealed at WWDC 2012 in June).

So there you have it folks, these are the most credible rumors regarding the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Apple iPhone 5. Not all of them might turn out to come true, but most of them will. What are your thoughts on the fight between the Apple and Samsung flagships of 2012? Who will take the crown as the best selling smartphone of the year? Which will be the best performing smartphone of 2012? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. As always, make sure you drop us a thought in the comment section below!

NEXT: Samsung’s Celox vs Apple’s iPhone 4S: Future Superphone Standoff

Samsung Fights Back! Demands Apple Lay Down iPhone 5 and iPad 3 Final Samples

Rumor: Apple to Develop Smaller, Cheaper $200 iPhone to Compete with Android

This article, Samsung Galaxy S3 vs Apple iPhone 5: titan superphone deathmatch [rumor roundup] , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • apple iphone 5, Featured, Galaxy S3, iOS 6, iphone 5, new iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S3, vs • 0

May 1 2012

Samsung, Apple increase lead over struggling competitors: IDC report

As the latest earnings report clearly denotes, Samsung is on a roll! But if the record profit (nearly double year-over-year) that the South Korean giant has posted for Q1 2012 wasn’t enough, Apple fanboys will be saddened to learn yet another news. While a few weeks back, we reported that Samsung has overtaken Nokia as the largest mobile phone vendor, a recent report from IDC shows that Samsung has also surpassed Apple to become the largest smartphone vendor in the world.

The report also notes that, in Q1 2012, the global smartphone market increased 42.5% year-over-year, despite the fact that the global mobile phone market declined 1.5% over the same period.

Here’s an IDC graph that speaks volumes of the general state of the tech world.

Although Apple has also witnessed an increase in shipments, thanks to the release of the iPhone 4S in emergent markets (the Chinese release of the iPhone helped a lot with overall sales), Apple makes only one smartphone: the iPhone.

On the other hand, according to the report, Samsung has claimed the first place in both smartphone and mobile phone sales for the first quarter of the year, thanks to a combination of a diversified smartphone offer and an established relationships with carriers in diverse markets. As it stands, Samsung has one smartphone for everyone’s needs, ranging from the Android flagship Galaxy Nexus and the niche Galaxy Note phablet, back to the mid-range Galaxy Ace and forth to the affordable Galaxy Mini.

According to Ramon Llamas, a senior analyst with IDC: “With other companies in the midst of major strategic transitions, the contest between Apple and Samsung will bear close observation as hotly-anticipated new models are launched.” The Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3 is definitely the battle that will matter the most in 2012.

While HTC is not a company in transition, they did have some rethinking to do, with worldwide sales plummeting last year. Given the commercial success reported by the One X and One S models (and that’s even before the smartphones have reached US shores), it’s likely that HTC will become the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world by the end of 2012, sailing past RIM. As the Canadian manufacturer won’t release a new line of smartphones until this autumn, the makers of the BlackBerry seem to be destined for an inglorious market exit.

As it is obvious from IDC’s graph, Nokia is the biggest loser in the smartphone manufacturer race over the past year. The Finns abandoned the Symbian OS and are now heavily pushing Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS. Sales of the Nokia Lumia series, especially the Nokia Lumia 900, are expected to help Nokia regain its foothold and consolidate the third position in the race.

What do you guys make of it? Will next year’s reports bring new players among the big five? Will Nokia be able to take back their crown? Or is Samsung unbeatable? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!

NEXT: Samsung and Apple Battle Over The Asian Market

Samsung Becomes Smartphone King Thanks to Android

Samsung Isn’t Worried by Apple iTV, Still Offers the Best Picture Quality

This article, Samsung, Apple increase lead over struggling competitors: IDC report , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android News, apple, HTC, market share, nokia, rim, samsung • 0

May 1 2012

The source code of Android on the Galaxy Nexus deemed “trade secret” by Google

I’m sure that most of our readers already know that Apple and Google are (and will continue to be for a while) involved in a number of lawsuits pertaining to various patents that one company or the other is supposedly breaking. What many might not know is that, in a number of cases, Apple has requested to learn information about Google’s services and software just so they can sue the search giant for supposedly breaking other patents after analyzing the data.

The latest of these requests, made by Apple as part of the motion for preliminary injunction against the latest Google smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, is by far the most interesting of them all. Apple has requested to learn the differences — if any — between the open source Android code available at https://android.googlesource.com/platform/manifest and the source code for the Android version on the Galaxy Nexus. Even more interesting was Google’s reason for not being able to share that information: “Although Google releases some versions of Android through the Android Open Source Project, the internal functionality of Android running on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is Google’s trade secret.”

Google lawyers made it clear that this is the same way that the iPhone source code was treated in a previous iPhone antitrust case (quoting the official ruling: “because the iPhone source code is a trade secret, plaintiffs have the burden to establish that it is both relevant and necessary.”). But to some, Google’s answer has revealed a bit more about the relatively open nature of the Android OS.

The OS should be the same with all Android smartphones, right? Wrong, as it seems that Samsung has received a secret version of Android to use on the Galaxy Nexus. Just imagine how far Google could go down this path with the biggest company they’ve every acquired, Motorola. It looks like the dissatisfaction of some Android manufacturers regarding the Google-Motorola merger is based on solid facts, and not just a product of their paranoid business heads.

What is your take on this? Is Google holding back major improvements in the OS for implementation on their Nexus smartphones? Or is a legal move without any real-world implications? Let us know what you think in the comment section below!

NEXT: Samsung Releases Galaxy Note Source Code

Google holds on to Honeycomb Source Code

Samsung releases Android 4.0 ICS source code for Galaxy S2

This article, The source code of Android on the Galaxy Nexus deemed “trade secret” by Google , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • android, Android News, Android Source Code, apple, apple vs android, galaxy nexus • 0

Apr 30 2012

Mobile payments to take off in Canada by the end of 2012

Canada NFC

In a previous article we published a few days back, we talked about how smartphone payments are expected to replace cash and credit cards as the main payment method by the end of this decade. Following up, if a recent report from Reuters is to be believed, Canada is poised to be there first, as the invasion of smartphone payments is expected to commence there as soon as by the end of this year.

According to Reuters, Canada is currently the leader in developing smartphone payment methods, a title won thanks to the high number of retailers and smartphone owners that have adopted NFC technology. According to Richard McLaughlin, senior vice-president for global products and solutions at Mastercard: “Whether it’s parking, or coffee, or groceries or gas, the acceptance points in Canada are much broader than they are in the United States”.

Statistics show that a decent number of Canadian retailers are already prepared to deal with NFC payments. It is estimated that almost 15% of all retailers in Canada can process smartphone payments in the present, a number expected to rise significantly by the end of the year as more vendors start supporting mobile payments. On the customer side, it is expected that most smartphone owners in Canada already are or will soon be packing an NFC-enabled smartphone. Analysts expect 100 million smartphones equipped with an NFC chip to be sold worldwide this year alone.

As the hardware is almost broadly available, the only remaining task before smartphone payments really take off is a deal between the carriers and credit card companies. Fortunately for mobile-payment enthusiasts, insider sources claim that such an agreement is reaching its final stages, as Canada’s tree largest carriers (Rogers, Telus, and Bell) and a number of Canadian banks are supposedly already ironing out the final details. According to Davin Robinson, head of the business team at Rogers, the biggest Canadian carrier, a mobile wallet solution is expected to arrive over the next six months.

If Reuter’s sources are to be believed, the system proposed by the carriers is fairly simple: the banks need to pay an annual fee to the carriers, and get 100% of the transaction in return. I’m guessing the annual fee will not be set in stone, as mobile payments are expected to gain even further traction over the following years.

It remains to be seen if mobile payments will take off in Canada (same for the rest of the world). As noted above, a solution might be broadly available by the end of the year. However, customers will have to actually use the new tech in order for it to become successful. It remains to be seen if customers decide that paying with their phones is more convenient than traditional payment methods such as cash and credit cards.

What are your thoughts on this? Will mobile payments actually make payments easier to make? Drop us a line in the comment section below!

No related posts.

This article, Mobile payments to take off in Canada by the end of 2012 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android News, bell, mobile payments, nfc, rogers, telus • 0

Apr 30 2012

LG Cloud enters beta May 1st, will make content available on all displays

LG Cloud

Cloud services are, by no means, a new product of the tech world as they’ve been around in one form or the other for many years. But when LG announces that they’re entering the cloud service market, that is something new, since LG is a company that mostly makes hardware, and not software.

The newly announced LG Cloud is an alternative to Apple’s iCloud rather than being a competitor for Google Drive or other cloud storage services such as those offered at DropBox.com or Box.com. Think of it as a personal YouTube app that makes all your 2D and 3D uploaded content “almost immediately” available on your PC, smartphone, tablet, or smart TV.

Here’s LG marketing pitch: “LG makes the devices that millions of people watch content on so we can set a new yardstick for ease of use by setting up our own cloud service. Tomorrow’s consumers don’t want to go to one cloud for music, another cloud for video, another location for photos and yet another cloud for their office files. In the end, our solution is about making life more convenient”, said Havis Kwon, the head of the LG Cloud service.

Content can be uploaded to the LG Cloud from your Android smartphone via the LG Cloud App, from your LG smart TV (using a special app in the LG Smart World store), or from the PC app that you can download from www.lgcloud.com.

A very interesting feature of LG Cloud is that the video content will be converted server-side into the format best suited for the device that renders the content. This technology is called Real-time Streaming Transcoding, and it’s definitely something we’d like other cloud service providers to use in the near future. It’s also noteworthy that the video content will be streamed (and not downloaded first), in order to make the content available for viewing as soon as possible.

LG has announced that their new Cloud service will be available in both free and paid versions. LG Cloud will enter the beta phase tomorrow, May 1.

What do you guys make of it? Useless app from LG ? The best way to stream videos via the cloud? Let us know in the comment section below!

NEXT: Google Music Beta Takes Your Tunes To The Cloud

Samsung S-Cloud to be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S3 on May 3?

Best Buy’s New Cloud Music Service Accessible to Major Platforms

This article, LG Cloud enters beta May 1st, will make content available on all displays , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android News, cloud services, lg, LG Cloud • 0

Apr 27 2012

Meet your own personal Android-controlled UAV: the Parrot AR Drone 2.0

parrot ar drone 2

Our regular readers know that we recently reported that the army might soon start controlling UAVs using modified Android smartphones. If you have any doubts that it could be done, let me show you what a regular civilian can do with around just $330. You won’t be able to actually bomb you neighbor’s house (unfortunately), but it does help to prove the versatility of smartphones these days.

Named the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0, this “flying thingy” is the only quadrocopter that you can control with your smartphone or tablet, so there’s that. But what makes the AR Drone 2.0 even cooler is the AR part in its name: the augmented reality feature that lets you play games by augmenting the live footage captured by the camera mounted on front of the qadrocopter. Take a quick look at the video below and tell me it doesn’t look like the dogfight of the future:

One of the notable improvements over the original Parrot AR Drone – launched back in 2010 – is the 720p camera with a 92 degree viewing angle, a bump from the mere VGA camera on the older model. We can only imagine the awesome videos you can make if you pilot the AR Drone 2.0 outdoors.

The altitude is basically unlimited, thanks to a pressure sensor that ensures the quadricopter stays stable. In addition, the 3D magnetometer makes the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 very easy to pilot while in the Absolute Flight mode, which uses the smartphone/tablet as a reference point. This way, every command you give is interpreted as relative to the smartphone.

The Parrot AR Drone 2.0 can be controlled with any Android smartphone, although it hurts me to say that Parrot has developed games only for iOS (don’t tell any iPhone fanboy, but in the video above, the Drone is actually controlled with an iPhone). Fortunately, Parrot has released the SDK as a free download, so third party developers can create AR Drone apps of their own. All Android app developers with a passion for flight can and should take a crack at it.

The Parrot AR Drone 2.0 will cost $329 and will be available from next month from various outlets.

No related posts.

This article, Meet your own personal Android-controlled UAV: the Parrot AR Drone 2.0 , was originally published at AndroidAuthority.com - Your Android News Source.

By Mihai Andrici • Android News, augmented reality, Parrot AR Drone, Quadrocopter • 0

Apr 27 2012

Telstra Samsung Galaxy S2 now receiving the Android 4.0.3 update

According to AusDroid, the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich update is being rolled out to the Telstra Samsung Galaxy S2 in Australia as we speak. Connecting your Galaxy S2 to your PC and syncing it up with Samsung Kies is the method that seemed to work for most, but some users have already reported that the ICS update notification came over the air (OTA). It’s likely that the OTA update will come to all Australian Galaxy S2 owners from Telstra over the following days.

I’ll recommend that you download the update via Wi-Fi, as the Android 4.0.3 update for the S2 is a hefty 213MB. That might leave a dent in your data plan if you choose to download it over 3G. Let us know how the update worked for you in the comment section below!

As Optus Mobile has rolled out the Galaxy S2 ICS update since April 16, Vodafone is now the only Australian carrier that did not upgrade the Galaxy S2 to Android 4.0. On a side-note, Vodafone is also the only major Australian carrier without an LTE network available to their customers. Optus has put up its LTE network this month, while Telstra was the first to offer Aussies LTE back in September 2011.

NEXT: Galaxy S2 LTE and Galaxy Note rumored Heading to Telstra in Australia