Hasta La Gadget!

Catching up to its iOS counterpart, Adobe’s Reader app for Android has been updated with the same PDF conversion tools. This means that from within the app, you can now create PDFs from various popular file types, and vice versa. While the new version improves search, changes the file browser UI and adds multi-window support for free, you’ll need to reach for your wallet to use the PDF transmogrification features. Continuing Adobe’s love of subscriptions over purchases, the ExportPDF add-on for turning PDFs into other files costs just under $24 per year. The PDF pack, which lets you make PDFs from other files as well as the reverse, comes at a monthly charge of $10. We’re good, thanks.

Filed under: Mobile

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Via: Android Beat, Android Police

Source: Play store

Kogan’s Agora brand may not drive techies wild like Galaxies or iThings do, but its motto is clear: try to deliver reasonable hardware at the lowest possible price. The company’s first bid for a piece of the smartphone pie launched earlier this year, and today we’re learning of its sequel. Design-wise, this second Agora handset is a little curvier than the last, with a soft key replacing its predecessor’s physical home button. A 5-inch, 720p IPS LCD display occupies the face, and inside we’re looking at a 1.2GHz quad-core MT6589 Mediatek SoC (Cortex-A7), 1GB of RAM and 4 gigs of internal storage, expandable with up to 32GB cards of the microSD variety. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, hosts two SIM slots, an 8-megapixel main camera, 2-megapixel front-facer, 2,000mAh removable battery and 3G (850 / 1900 / 2100), WiFi (802.11b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0 antennae.

Most importantly, it costs $189, £149 or 199 Aussie dollars — it’s up for order now at the relevant source links and is expected to ship to the US, Australia, the UK and other European countries, as well as a couple of Asian markets starting October 3rd. We’re hoping to get a review unit through soon, so keep an eye out over the coming weeks for our impressions. In our opinion, anything that rings up at under $200 is worth a fair trial.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Kogan (UK), (Aus), (US & elsewhere)

Samsung didn’t stray far from its comfort zone when designing the Galaxy S 4, and now a leaked build of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the S III makes it even harder to distinguish the older flagship from the newer one. The folks at SamMobile got their mitts on a test firmware build and, better yet, have combed through it to see what’s new. As you may know, the S 4 ships with 4.2.2 under a TouchWiz layer, so it’s not surprising to hear most of the features new to this S III build are on the S 4 already: an updated version of S Voice, more lock screen options / unlock effects, new display modes, a redesigned settings interface, voice control, and more. SamMobile has put together a video walkthrough of the build (embedded below), and you’ll find an expanded changelog and software screenshots at the source link. Apparently, the firmware “works perfectly,” so if you’d rather not wait through the (often lengthy) carrier approval process, you can download it for your S III right now (flashing required, of course).

Update: This is for the international model of the GS III (i9300).

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Google

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Via: Sammy Hub

Source: SamMobile

Sony’s Xperia Z took the company into the big leagues this year: the company finally has a handset that turns heads and can compete with the established Galaxy and One brands. The Z and its plainer ZL variant weren’t the only bullets in the Xperia revolver for 2013, though. Back in March, the company announced the Xperia SP and Xperia L handsets to fall in line behind its flagship. While the L is undoubtedly targeted at the low end of the Android spectrum, the Xperia SP sits in a strange middle ground, with a 720p display and internals that rival the flagships of 2012. It’s not some kind of Xperia S and P fusion, either. The design is vastly different from the sum of its moniker, although the transparent element that defined those devices makes a comeback here.

And thus, with intrigue, we must put the Xperia through its paces the Engadget way. Is it just another Android handset put out so there’s something with the Sony name available at a lower price point than the Z? Is there anything other than a transparent piece of plastic to set it apart from the plethora of other touchscreen rectangles that live in the shadow of their top-tier peers? Instead of pondering the answers to those questions yourself, save time by heading past the break for our full review.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Ever since its launch, Windows Phone has faced criticism for lacking a broad app selection compared with its main mobile OS competitors. Microsoft is out to convince users otherwise, and in a rather cheeky move, has launched the Switch to Windows Phone app for Android. Available now on the Google Play store, the app takes note of all the software currently on your Android handset and sends those details to SkyDrive. Add that SkyDrive account on a WP8 device, and you’ll be offered official WP8 apps which correspond to the ones found on your Android phone, or apps that match up best if official versions aren’t available. Microsoft has also taken this opportunity to launch a new ad campaign (embedded after the break) pumping itself up as a sensible alternative to the Android / iOS battles, timed perfectly to arrive with this app. Assuming you have the requisite devices handy, hit the source links to install the software and let us know how good it is at finding a match.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Microsoft

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Via: AVForums, WinBeta

Source: Google Play, Windows Phone Store