Hasta La Gadget!

An update to your Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 are right around the corner in the form of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean – so says Samsung. It’s at IFA 2012 that the company made the announcement that the software would be hitting both devices “very soon” as it were, with the Samsung Galaxy Note II having been announced earlier in the event they spoke at as coming with Jelly Bean right out of the box. This duo of devices currently works with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

While the first Galaxy Note still also works with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at this very moment, it would appear – though Samsung hasn’t confirmed – that Jelly Bean will be arriving there soon as well. Unless of course there’s some unforeseen set of circumstances, of course. Generally an update to the international versions of these devices comes first while the carrier-specific devices get a software update of this magnitude several weeks later.

Samsung Galaxy Note II video demo:

In other words, you can expect an update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean on your Samsung Galaxy S III and Note 10.1 – that brand new tablet we just saw for the first time less than a month ago – to come before the end of the year. This software update will bring expansions to Google’s search capabilities as well as some next-level Samsung-added perks as well. For a preview of what’s to come, it’s a good bet that you’re glance at our hands-on with the Galaxy Note II from earlier today will do you some good – have a peek at a hands-on video here as well.

Also check out the rest of our IFA 2012 coverage as well as our timeline below of Jelly Bean updates and features – get to know Google’s latest and greatest mobile offering!

Jelly Bean set for Galaxy S III and Note 10.1 “very soon” says Samsung is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So we saw the new flagship Sony Xperia T earlier this morning, but this does not mean that Sony Mobile has forgotten about the rest of the market who want affordable and yet functional and stylish smartphones. Here we are with the Sony Xperia V which should appeal to the mid-range smartphone crowd, where it will be equipped with a 4.3” HD Reality Display that is powered by the Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2, a 13-megapixel camera which does Full HD video recording as well as fast capture, a 1.5GHz dual core processor, LTE support, as well as NFC compatibility that paves open the way for one-touch environments.

Clear audio+ is touted by Sony Mobile to help deliver the highest level of sound quality, so you will have less excuse for not hearing mom’s constant nagging for you to clear your room over the phone, and since all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, Jack should pick up the Sony Xperia V as it is a PlayStation Certified device. It packs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box with the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update being prepared even as we speak. Even more unique is the durability of the Sony Xperia V which sports dust and water resistance according to IP55/57+ standards, allowing it to remain immersed for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. [Press Release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sony Xperia J does the “meh” dance, Sony VAIO Tap 20 Family Touch PC debuted at IFA 2012,

Samsung didn’t leave its ATIV introductions to just an ARM tablet and a phone. We first saw them as the Series 5 and Series 7 tablets, which will likely be their final US names; to recap, though, the newly branded ATIV Smart PC and ATIV Smart PC Pro both look to capture some of that Transformer-like aura by mating an 11.6-inch tablet with a detachable keyboard dock for a laptop experience. Some of Samsung’s own Galaxy Note vibe rubs off on them, too — both carry an S Pen and a bundled S Note app for some on-the-spot writing. They likewise share support for 3G and 4G as well as micro-HDMI and USB, but there’s a clear difference depending on what you buy. Going for the regular Smart PC loads in a modest Clover Trail-based Intel Atom processor and a 1,366 x 768 display, but offers a lengthy 13.5-hour battery life, 2GB of RAM, up to a 128GB flash drive, a rear 8-megapixel camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. Slap that “Pro” moniker on the front and you have to drop to eight hours of battery life and a 5-megapixel rear camera, but you’ll get a much faster Core i5 processor, a 1080p display, 4GB of RAM and as much as a 256GB SSD. Unlike the ATIV Tab, we do know the Smart PCs will be available in the US on October 26th at $649 for a base Smart PC/Series 5, $749 for a bundle with the keyboard and $1,119 for a Smart PC Pro/Series 7 with a 128GB SSD built-in.

Continue reading Samsung calling its dockable Windows 8 tablets ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro outside the US

Filed under: Tablets

Samsung calling its dockable Windows 8 tablets ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro outside the US originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re very familiar with that surrounding our day to day lives—so much so, that we can be caught in creative ruts. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, I want you to leave that life and photograph something totally new. More »

Flipboard supports video, but it’s always been focused on modernizing the reading experience. Until today, that is. The app is taking advantage of YouTube channels to give readers — sorry, viewers — a steady stream of video pattered along common themes. Basic feeds for concepts like cooking, music and news sit side-by-side with more esoteric sections for ‘influencers,’ fashion and (our favorite) science. Is it the end of reading? We don’t think so, but it does mean we won’t have to hop to another app to get our moving picture fix, which we’re sure is as much Flipboard’s dream come true as it is ours.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software

Flipboard adds dedicated video channels, decides reading isn’t everything originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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