Fly Or Die: Samsung Galaxy S III

Screen shot 2012-07-07 at 2.41.04 PM

Fly or Die: Samsung GALAXY S III

I said in my review that the Samsung Galaxy S III is the phone you’ve been waiting for, and the same holds true in this latest episode of Fly Or Die. John and I took a look at the various specs, namely the NFC-style features and S-Voice, and we both walked away with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

To put it quite bluntly, the Galaxy S III is far and away the best Android phone you can buy today. Sure, the plastic back panel is a bit “chintzy,” as John would say, but that’s irrelevant when you look at the value in this phone.

NFC capabilities, including tap-to-share, TecTiles, etc. work very well, and are incredibly easy — so much so that I believe my mom would be able to use them (and that says a lot). The display is gorgeous, the camera is excellent, battery life can hang, and it’s running the latest version of Android on an LTE connection.

There isn’t much more you can ask for. Two flies.


Is The Lumia 1001 Nokia’s First Windows Phone 8 Device?

lumia1001-a

With Windows Phone 8′s launch fast approaching, it not exactly a surprise to hear that Nokia is slaving away on some new hardware. The Nokia Lumia 910 — which some suspect is a Lumia 900 meant for T-Mobile USA — was recently spotted thanks to Nokia’s Remote Device Access service, but that’s not all the Finnish company seems to have in the works.

A new device called the Nokia Lumia 1001 was also detected by one of Nokia’s remotely-accessible phones, and its significant model number jump could mean it’s the company’s first Windows Phone 8 device. Or does it?

If you’ve never had the chance to play with Remote Device Access it allows users to connect to a whole host of Nokia hardware from within a browser window. It’s ostensibly meant for developers to test their applications and code on real (if distant) hardware, but it also provides an occasionally neat glimpse into what Nokia is working on. Take the Lumia 900 for instance — then referred to as the “Nokia 900 Windows Phone,” its existence was detected by a device being controlled remotely late last year.

It’s worth noting though that devices like the Lumia 910 and 1001 aren’t directly accessible to users — instead, they’re spotted when a user commands one of Nokia’s devices to search for other Bluetooth-enabled devices nearby.

I was initially able to spot the Lumia 1001 (see above) while I was poking around with a Nokia 500. Just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, I jumped into a different device (the Nokia N9, if you were curious) to see if the device in question was still hanging around.

At this point, there’s no way to discern any of the device’s particulars or even if it’s a real handset. Considering the sort of attention that the RDA service has been getting lately, it’s entirely possible that someone at Nokia has a sense of humor and changed one of the device’s names to “Nokia Lumia 1001″ just to mess with all of us.

That being said, there’s little question that Nokia is working on some Windows Phone 8 hardware behind closed doors, in preparation for the platform’s launch later this year. Longtime readers may also remember that Nokia switched to a “larger-is-better” numerical naming scheme last year, with their most premium handsets getting high model numbers.

So far, Nokia’s Lumia 900 sits at the top of the heap, but with Windows Phone 8 barreling down the pipeline, it wouldn’t be surprise to see Nokia bump up their model numbers for their newest breed of Windows Phones. After all, the existing version of Windows Phone is being left behind in favor of a more powerful, unified platform — one would imagine they would use a much loftier model number (not unlike “1001″) to signify that transition.


iOS app DRM error rectified by Apple

This week there was a bit of chatter on the fact that a “small number of users” as Apple put it were affected by an issue in the iTunes app store – today Apple has a fix. This issue included several apps crashing intermittently after they’d been updated, but today’s update straight from Apple’s iTunes representatives notes that all is well once more and that every app that’s been crashing should simply be able to be updated or re-downloaded from iTunes for a fully operational version, no worries included.

This update comes from an Apple spokesperson speaking with Rosa Golijan at msNBC and includes an extremely simplified statement on the situation with not a whole lot of unnecessary meat involved. Have a peek at the statement here:

“We had a temporary issue that began yesterday with a server that generated DRM code for some apps being downloaded. It affected a small number of users. The issue has been rectified and we don’t expect it to occur again. Users who experienced an issue launching an app caused by this server bug can delete the affected app and re-download it.” – Apple

A system on the fritz that’s normally charged with making sure you’ve got the key to opening all of your apps. Now that system is fixed and all is well in the world of iOS apps. Were you affected? Are you able to re-download the apps in question with great success? Let us know!


iOS app DRM error rectified by Apple is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Stolen AT&T smartphones get lockdown sequence

Starting on July the 10th, AT&T customers who’ve had their iPhone, Android, or any other smartphone stolen will be able to take action in a way that’s totally new to the carrier. AT&T is currently near ready to launch a stolen phone database with which they’ll be able to cut out voice, data, and SMS messaging from devices reported stolen while maintaining their overall account. This service will be spreading to other carriers soon as AT&T and Verizon, amongst others, have agreed to be part of an FCC pact to make this database a reality.

This database of stolen devices will eventually be working on at least the top four carriers in the United States, while starting in under a week here in the summer of 2012, it’ll be started up on AT&T first. Lockdowns will supposedly occur basically instantaneously once a theft is reported, but the possibility that users will then later be able to unlock the device should they recover them remains unknown.

An AT&T spokesperson spread the message thusly earlier today:

“As announced in April, AT&T is creating a stolen phone database to prevent devices reported stolen from accessing wireless network. We will install this availability next week for AT&T phones on our network and are working toward a cross-carrier solution later this year.” – AT&T

Check out the timeline below to see other recent FCC activity to keep up to date with all of their dealings – and watch out, villains, you’re about to get locked down on.


Stolen AT&T smartphones get lockdown sequence is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Nexus 7 production costs estimated at $184

It’s time to take a look at what Google and ASUS are considering when they try to sell their $199 tablet by the name of Nexus 7 – how much does it cost to produce? At the moment the closest we’re going to get to an actual answer is from TechInsights, a group that’s torn down the device and priced it all out. As it turns out, the pricing structure isn’t all that different from the Kindle Fire, that tablet you got for Christmas then forgot about a month later.

What TechInsights has figured is that the production cost on the Nexus 7 is $184 USD per tablet. That’s roughly a $15 USD profit per device for Google and ASUS. Amazon noted earlier this year that they were basically losing money on each tablet just so they could send out a machine that would be a perfect home for their media – and of course this model did indeed work for a while, the Kindle Fire being second only to the iPad earlier this year as well (beaten by a mile and a half by the iPad, but still).

Now the Nexus 7 is ramping up to take what little piece of cake the Fire still has and a big chunk extra as well if what we’re seeing today is true.

Without a loss on each unit, Google will be able to turn quite a giant profit on subsequent media sales, especially since this device is made specifically for users to access the Google Play store first and foremost. Open up your Nexus 7 later this month and you’ll see a collection of widgets on your homescreens directing you right straight at the Google Play app store, Book store, Movie and Television Show store, Music store, and Magazine store.

Check out our full review of the Google Nexus 7 to see what this business is all about, and head to the timeline below to dive deep into the nexus of news surrounding this beast of a tablet – coming to your home via FedEx soon!

[via Android Community]


Nexus 7 production costs estimated at $184 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


How Big Is Too Big? Samsung’s New Galaxy Note Said To Sport 5.5-Inch Screen

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I don’t know too many people who would look at the Galaxy Note and its 5.3 inch display and say “y’know, it would be great if this thing was just a little bigger,” and I now I know why. As it turns out, those people live in Korea, work for Samsung, and may have decided just that.

According to their usual unnamed sources, Korea’s MK Business News reports that Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 will sport an even larger 5.5-inch display when its unveiled at Germany’s IFA 2012 trade show in August.

Naturally, the display isn’t all they’re said to be upgrading here. The next-gen Galaxy Note is also rumored to pack an unspecified quad-core processor (most likely an Exynos 4 Quad), and a 12 or 13 megapixel camera around the back instead of the 8 megapixel shooter as seen in the original. To top it all off, it’s said to run on Google’s newly-revealed Jelly Bean version of Android, though it’s unclear at this point how the company will be tweaking their UI to account for Jelly Bean’s new features.

So how much of a handful is thing going to be? Well, while the display has been stretched out a bit, the device itself isn’t expected to be significantly larger than the current Galaxy Note. Frankly, this seems like both a blessing and a curse — users who can comfortably wrap their mitts around the original model should do just fine, but that slightly larger display may make one-handed operation even less feasible than before.

Now I’m all for pushing limits and whatnot, but this just begs an obvious question: how big is too big? Most tablet manufacturers are loath to dip below the 7-inch barrier, and if this report holds true then Samsung is eagerly chipping away at the other side of that limit. Samsung’s success with the Galaxy Note has also prompted companies like LG to take up the super-sized phone challenge, so it’s very possible that phone screen sizes haven’t topped out just yet.


SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: July 6th, 2012

This morning it’s time to get real with HTC, as their not so fabulous Q2 profit report is reacted to by our own Chris Davies in a column by the name of HTC’s Precipice Moment. In completely unrelated news, Microsoft will be releasing a Halo 4 Xbox 360 sometime in the future and it’s high time we started printing blood vessels.

You’ll be interested to know that the box floating around your Piccsy screen is not a gigantic USB stick, it’s a Ouya Android device, made to be a game streaming box for just $99 on kickstarter – see it soon! Watch out for the framers out there looking to make Android look bad with Malware Botnet like you’ve never seen before.

You will also be having a fabulous time working with the Quad GeForce GTX 690 server – a blast of power from all sides! Microsoft has confirmed that there will be no Windows Home Server for the Windows 8 generation.

Samsung is doing quite a bit better this past quarter than HTC has done.

NASA is showing off some brand new images of Mars. The folks at Blue have released a brand new Tiki USB mic that’s out at Best Buy today – and be sure to check out their new setup at the big box stores that are left as well! Nokia has released their until-now-secretive Batman: Dark Knight Rises 3D Gotham map. And of course, don’t forget the Amazon Kindle Phone – also very possibly coming soon, too.

BONUS: keep up to date on the newest blockbuster action, adventure, super-hero film on the block: The Amazing Spider-Man with our interviews and features galore – check em all in the timeline below and stay tuned for more this and next week!


SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: July 6th, 2012 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.


Amazon Is Reportedly Working On A Smartphone, But Cracking The Market Won’t Be Easy

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Amazon’s Kindle Fire has done a remarkable job carving out its own niche in the tablet space, and it seems a sequel is already barreling down the pipeline for a release in the coming months. That new tablet may not be alone though, as rumblings of yet another Amazon hardware project have started up once again.

After conferring with their sources, Bloomberg reported late yesterday evening that Amazon is working on a new smartphone that they hope will go toe-to-toe with the iPhone and Android smartphones.

For those keeping tabs on rumors of Amazon’s potential forays into hardware, this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise — Citi analysts Mark Mahaney and Kevin Chang first pointed at the possibility of an Amazon smartphone after a series of supply chain checks with Chinese hardware manufacturers last year. What’s more, they also fingered Foxconn as one of Amazon’s conspirators in the project, a tidbit that Bloomberg’s sources confirm.

Sadly, the report is light on some of the juicier details — what OS it runs, how far along the project is, etc. — but there’s enough smoke here that it would be a surprise if there wasn’t any fire. Bloomberg’s report goes on to say that Amazon is bolstering its patent portfolio to give themselves some cover (sadly, this is a must for smartphone players), and Amazon’s acquisition of 3D mapping service UpNext suddenly makes a lot more sense.

That said, at this point Amazon’s potential smartphone play yields more questions than answers. There’s the issue of carrier support for one, something that Amazon luckily didn’t have to deal with when they launched the Kindle Fire.

Comparatively speaking, tablets are easy — slap a Wi-Fi radio in there and you’re off to the connectivity races. That approach obviously doesn’t cut it if Amazon plans on making a splash with a smartphone, and the company will need to link up with one (or more) wireless carriers in order to give their new device some legs. There’s also an argument to be made that carriers aren’t exactly fans of rocking the boat, and the prospect of selling a phone simply because it has Amazon’s name on it may not be the most comforting one to mull over.

Successful smartphones also require a hook — be it thoughtful design, a strong spec sheet, or forward-thinking features. Again, we don’t know what Amazon has planned on any of those fronts, but for their sake it had better be something good. What they almost certainly can’t do though is what they did with the Kindle Fire.

The Kindle Fire is a completely adequate device, but what really made it shine when it launched was its low price tag. Its sheen has begun to wane a bit since Google’s superior Nexus 7 was revealed at I/O, and Amazon is bound to face a similar situation if they branch out into the smartphone space.

Just being cheap isn’t good enough there — most smartphones are attached to multi-year contracts and have their price tags slashed as a result, so there’s literally no shortage of solid devices at nearly every price point. There is of course the possibility that Amazon will try something really novel like selling a super-cheap unlocked smartphone and let users choose their own GSM provider, but I suspect that’s a bit too off the beaten path for them.

Arguably, Amazon’s hook is their ecosystem. Easy access to Amazon’s vast stores of content combined with thoughtful integration of services like CloudDrive could make Amazon a real contender. Still, that won’t appeal to everyone, and it becomes a question of positioning at that point — serious workaholics and power users may want to find something different, but pitching the device as a one-stop shop to everything Amazon has to offer could be a boon for the all-important first time smartphone owner segment.

Much of the device’s potential appeal also rests on the operating system it runs on, and Android is a very likely choice considering their track record with the Kindle Fire. The question then becomes what will Amazon do to Android — the heavily tweaked fork seen on the Fire bears very little resemblance to the mobile OS that most of us know, and it’s not impossible to think that Amazon would do something similar for a new smartphone in an attempt to make it stand out among a sea of competitors.

All things considered, Amazon has a chance at successfully cracking the smartphone market, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them. Plenty of established players still have trouble crafting a formula to satisfy users, and Amazon has more than a little hubris going on if it thinks it can make a name for itself in this terribly competitive space. Then again, hubris is sometimes exactly what it takes pull something crazy off, so the rest of us will just have to wait and see what happens.

[Image via Shutterstock]


Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: New features and apps

Google’s latest version of the Android operating system is known as Jelly Bean, where the version number stands at 4.1. This is the latest version that will be built on top of Ice Cream Sandwich, and was first introduced officially to the masses when Google I/O kicked off. Basically, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean delivered a faster and more fluid user interface, a voice search experience that many would say pummels Apple’s Siri (to each his or her own), as well as improved search capability.

The SDK is already available since last week as a developer preview from developer.android.com. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean will arrive in mid-July onwards on select devices.

Android Platform Development Kit (PDK) is meant for hardware developers and  it will be available to Android device partners 2 to 3 months before the release date of future Android versions. A beta version of the Jelly Bean PDK has already been made available to everyone on an ongoing basis.

Editor’s note: We already published this list of new features as part of our Nexus 7 review, but we thought that it would be useful to have it as a stand alone article.

(more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Jellybean statue can’t take the heat, Jelly Bean statue gets installed at Googleplex Lawn,

iPad reportedly getting hardware tweaks but no new model

In a relatively unheard of – or unspoken of move, at least, on Apple‘s part, the iPad has been reported as making some changes to the current hardware that makes up the iPad 3. This 3rd generation iPad (with Retina display) will supposedly be getting a slightly thinner chassis as well as a lighter design overall. It will also be getting a larger camera lens hole, though no word has been spread quite yet on if the actual camera will be affected.

These reports come from DigiTimes who have let it be known that their sources, leaking information first to a Taiwanese tech journal then to them, come from an Apple manufacturing plant of some sort, and also have a bit to say about the batteries in the current generation iPad. These sources are reporting that some of the reported heat issues present in the current iPad will be all but erased with the new build as the batteries are getting both smaller and more energy efficient.

It’s highly doubtful that Apple would release another iPad this year with the 3rd generation iPad still so fresh in everyone’s minds, but you never know. There’s also always the possibility that Apple could release a software update that would replicate the “fixes” that the sources speaking above are implicating, with the hardware changes adding to future possibilities of long-lasting units.

Have a peek in the timeline below to see all the most recent iPad news bits, and notice how it’s not the standard model iPad that’s getting all the press, it’s a much smaller “iPad Mini” model instead. Which will cross the finish line first – a smaller model, or just a slightly thinner model?


iPad reportedly getting hardware tweaks but no new model is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.