Hasta La Gadget!

Welcome to Thursday evening everyone – just one more work day to go and then we’ll have arrived at the weekend. Today we received a pair of invites from Microsoft – one for a Windows 8 launch event happening on October 25, and another for a Windows Phone 8 event happening on October 29. We also learned today that Samsung intends to update the Galaxy S III to Jelly Bean “soon,” but sadly, we still don’t have a specific date to speak of. We were also told today that HP will be hiring more than 50 developers to work on Open webOS, which is definitely something to get excited about.

Google is said to be looking to the Nexus 7 for inspiration for the next Nexus smartphone, while AT&T was seen touting the fact that it will be offering both the Samsung ATIV smart PC (complete with Windows 8, mind you) and the all-new Samsung Galaxy Camera, which comes packing Android. Earlier today, we reported that Facebook has been auto-liking pages without users’ permission, but it wasn’t long after that Facebook got back to us with a statement telling us its side of the story.

Google finally settled its long-running lawsuit with US publishers today, and Intel announced a new Atom-based storage platform. We had a fair amount of video game news today, with EA and Maxis sharing a new 9-minute gameplay video of Sim City. Nintendo held another Nintendo Direct live stream today, during which the company announced that the special edition Pikachu 3DS XL will be launching in Europe and that a number of its 3DS games were going live on the eShop. Bethesda released Skyrim: Hearthfire on PC today, we caught a glimpse of a tech demo for Notch’s new game 0x10c, and learned that Mists of Pandaria sales are lagging behind launch sales for Cataclysm.

NASA gave us an update on Curiosity’s mission today, and we were introduced to the new PadPivot NST tablet holder. ASUS announced the VivoTab RT for AT&T, and we heard whispers that Logitech is working on a new wireless webcam for Macs. Hitachi announced a new airport gate prototype that quickly sniffs for bombs, and the iNUKE BOOM Junior speaker was revealed (though it’s still pretty big as far as iPhone/iPod speakers go). Microsoft announced it’s acquisition of PhotoFactor this evening, and finally tonight, our own Chris Davies asks if Google+ can eventually replace Evernote.

That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, enjoy the rest of your night folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: October 4, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google’s Nexus 7 tablet has been a huge success, and it’s one of the most popular Android tablets out on the market currently. It’s been sold out in the Google Play store multiple times, so it’s definitely seen its fair share of demand. It may not be too much of a surprise then that Google is looking to model their upcoming Nexus smartphone after the Nexus 7.

Unnamed sources have said that Google is working with a handful of manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, Sony, and LG to launch a smartphone based on the Nexus 7 tablet sometime in the future. It’s said that Google is giving these manufacturers free reign to implement the design and hardware specifications for this rumored Nexus 7-based smartphone as long as they “are based on its latest native Android system.”

We’re not exactly sure when we would see one of these smartphones, but it probably won’t be anytime soon, since none of the manufacturers have even begun the designs stages from the looks of things. However, it’s possible we could see the Nexus 7-esque smartphone next year around this time.

Currently, a lot of rumors are flying as to what will be the next Nexus device to release soon. It’s said that we’ll see a new Nexus smartphone next month, and LG is rumored to be the manufacturer to deliver it — dubbed the Optimus Nexus. However, Google seems to always delivers solid hardware, so no matter what the next Nexus device will be, you’ll be sure that it’s going to be a powerhouse of a phone.

Google looking to Nexus 7 for smartphone inspiration is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nexus 7 is to Google as Surface is to Microsoft, so what happens when there are whispers being thrown about the industry, touting that Google as well as Microsoft fully intend to extend the Nexus 7 and Surface tablet ranges to comprise of more than just tablets, but rather, to include smartphones as well in order to increase the level of penetration of their respective platforms to the masses. Just like the ancient proverb that says, all roads lead to Rome, so too, will both of these technology giants implement their respective strategies in a different manner.

Google wants to include smartphones based on their Nexus 7 platform while working with hardware vendors who have vast experience in the world of smartphones such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Sony Mobile Communications and HTC being likely candidates, whereas Microsoft is tapping up ODM maker Pegatron to deliver smartphones that are powered by Windows Phone 8 sometime in the first half of 2013. All of the above are not confirmed just yet, so we will be playing close attention to how the rumors will unfold down the road – whether they will be gospel truth or otherwise.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 7 32GB spotted in Carphone Warehouse listing, Microsoft-branded Windows Phone handset expected in first half of 2013 [Rumor],

Google entered the tablet market with a bang when it unveiled its own 7-inch slate, Nexus 7. The tablet was the result of a joint collaboration between Google and Asus. Ever since the launch, the tablet has become a significant player in the mini tablet arena.

Google is also expected to carry this success forth by launching successors to this tablet. However, for now, it may seem that the company has plans of launching more variants of the slate. Currently, Google offers Nexus 7 in 8GB and 16GB variants but a new Carphone Warehouse listing speaks of a 32GB Nexus 7 tablet (Wi-Fi only). (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Nexus 7 reportedly facing hard time trying to get into China, Google Nexus 7 does 720p webcam recording,

So maybe you’ve been sitting back, waiting to see what tablets the world has in store. That’s not a bad idea, but if you’ve been leaning towards the Nexus 7, you should just pull the trigger right now. Why? Because it still comes with a $25 Google Play credit, but only until tomorrow. More »