au by KDDI – au 2013 summer new collection press conference – “XPERIA UL” by Sony

au by KDDI - au 2013 summer new collection press conference - "XPERIA UL" by Sony

At today’s 2013 summer new collection press conference, au announced the new “XPERIA UL” smartphone, to be released May 25.

According to CEO Takashi Tanaka, “XPERIA UL” is a smartphone that they especially focused on because of its ease of hold and were meticulous about the design to the last millimeter. Although XPERIA smartphones that are out from other companies have a more square design, Sony changed the “XPERIA UL” design only for au to make it fit more comfortably in users’ hands.

“XPERIA UL” has a large 5 inch high-resolution display with Direct Touch (for better touch accurately) built-in. Its camera features Sony’s CMOS image sensor “Exmor RS for mobile” and is 13 million pixels. One of the notable camera functions is “Continuous Shooting Mode” that enables you to take 15 photos per second without any limit (within memory capacity).

Model: Xperia UL SOL22
Release date: May 25
OS: Android 4.1
Size: 71 x 135 x 10.5mm
Weight: 145g
Display: 5 inch Reality Display LCD FHD
Battery: 2,300mAh
Color: White, Pink, Black
Compliant with: Bluetooth, One-seg, Wi-Fi, Tethering, au Smart Pass, Wallet phone, 4G LTE, NFC, Infrared data communication, Waterproof, Dustproof

Popular young actress Ayame Goriki and current world-wide famous Japanese pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu joined the event, brightening up the venue…

The au 2013 summer new collection press conference took place at Shibuya Excel (Cerulean) Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo.

au by KDDI – au 2013 summer new collection press conference – “HTC J One” smartphone by HTC Corporation

au by KDDI - au 2013 summer new collection press conference - "HTC J One" smartphone by HTC Corporation

At today’s 2013 summer new collection press conference, au announced the new “HTC J One” smartphone, to be released around early June.

“HTC J One” is the Japanese version of Taiwanese company, HTC’s global model “HTC One”. It is slick and smooth “Full metal” aluminum and has a rounded back, making it easier to hold.

Compared with regular smartphones, its 13 million pixel camera has a 300% increased uptake of light and a 50% reduction of noise.  Its new “HTC Zoe” camera mode can take 20 photos in 4 seconds and can take 3 seconds of full HD video at the same time, allowing you to capture the best possible image.

There are Dual Front Speakers built-in in giving the “HTC J One” impressive, real sound.

As a smart phone accessory, au offers “HTC J One mini” that can be a cordless handset of the “HTC J One”, able to be paired by NFC or Bluetooth and is available for ¥9,800. You can also trigger the camera shutter or check messages with “HTC J One mini”. A 6,000mAh large capacity portable charger “HTC Battery Bar” will also be available (¥9,000).

Model: HTV J One HTL22
Release date: After early June
OS: Android 4.1
Size: 69 x 138 x 10.5mm
Weight: 157g
Display: 4.7inch Super LCD3 FHD
Battery: 2,300mAh
Color: White metal , Black metal
Compliant with: Bluetooth, One-seg, Wi-Fi, Tethering, au Smart Pass, Wallet phone, 4G LTE, NFC, Infrared data communication

Popular young actress Ayame Goriki and current world-wide famous Japanese pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu joined the event, brightening up the venue…

The au 2013 summer new collection press conference took place at Shibuya Excel (Cerulean) Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Samsung – GALAXY S4 World Tour 2013 – Tokyo

Samsung - GALAXY S4 World Tour - Japan

Samsung’s roadshow of the GALAXY S4 finally arrived in Tokyo a month after kicking off in London and hitting several other cities and continents on the way.

The late timetable may have been through coordination with exclusive Japanese partner, mobile provider NTT Docomo, which announced its addition to its smartphone lineup yesterday. Or it may have been out of sensitivity to giving the product enough exposure around the world to raise its credibility in Japan.

But better late than never and we see a real buzz here for its roll-out which will happen later this month.

This is Samsung’s flagship mobile product and I thought the company did a great job to raise the level of excitement during the presentation. The President and the Executive VP of Samsung Japan as well as the Deputy President from Headquarters all gave great talks about the S4 and the vision for what Samsung is doing. They were joined by some famous Japanese Talento, who together with Samsung people very effectively illustrated the cool features on the S4:

1) The world’s first 5 inch full HD organic EL display
– It’s 8mm thin (1mm thinner than the previous model), but the display size got bigger than the previous model because of their slim bezel technology.
– 2,600mAh large capacity battery (500mAH more than the previous model)
– 1.9GHz Quad Core CPU

2) Various camera related functionality
【Sound & Shot】
– Enables you to record 9 seconds and associate it with photos

【Dual Shot】
– Take a photo of your subject and yourself on the same pic using the main and sub cameras at the same time

【Drama Shot】
– Takes continuous photos of a moving object and compose them to a single photo, which creates a photo that looks like a line-up of stop motion photos

【Story Album】
– Allows you to create a photo album by using photos saved in the S4

【Keshigomu (Eraser) Mode】
– Takes continuous photos and enables you to remove a walking person accidentally appearing behind your subject in the photos

3) Evolved handleability
【S Preview】
– Enables you to preview your photo albums and schedule, etc. by moving your finger close to each item above the screen

【S Gesture】
– Enables you to control the phone when your hands are dirty (flipping the page you are looking at and answering a phone call, etc.) by moving a hand above the screen
– Even use your elbow to navigate when your hands are full
– When you answer a phone call by using an S Gesture move, the phone call setting automatically shift to “Speaker Mode”. It will be very helpful when both hands are busy

【Smart Pause】
– Detects when your look away from the screen and video is paused automatically

【Glove Friendly】
– Enables you to control the touch panel in gloves

【Group Play】
– By using Wi-Fi tethering function, you can share music, photos and games with your friends

【S Health】
– Track you health by, for example, counting your steps and amount of exercise, monitoring the temperature and humidity around you, and recording calories or your weight etc.

【Kantan (Easy) Mode】
– Easily changes the home display from the regular one to a very simple looking one that is for smart phone beginners or elderly people. Each item is displayed in bigger size
– Good for smart phone beginners. Once they get used to use a Galaxy S4 with Kantan Mode, they can change the home display to the regular one

4) Notable accessory
【S View Cover】
– A smart phone cover for Galaxy S4.
– When you open the cover like a book, it shows the regular home display on Galaxy S4.
– There is a window in the cover so that when you close it, you can still see important information like the clock
– When you get a phone call, you can answer the phone by touching the window part and speak through the cover

The “talento” who discussed the S4 were:
– Kouji Imada
– Kyoko Uchida
– Ueske Yamamoto

Top 10 Google Now Cards We Need From I/O

Top 10 Google Now Cards We Need From I/O

Google Now Cards are amazing. The location-based search service can tell you whether the commute home will be hellish or merely miserable. Knowing what time your bus arrives or whether the day will bring driving rain or glorious sunshine is …

BBM Hitting iPhone and Android This Summer

BBM Hitting iPhone and Android This Summer

Today CEO Thorsten Heins announced that BBM would be a multi-platform messaging service. The BBM messaging service will land on the iPhone and Android this summer with the messaging and groups features. BBM voice, screen sharing, video and channels will …

BlackBerry’s New Q5: The Cheap Keyboard Phone for Emerging Markets and Hello Kitty Fans

BlackBerry’s New Q5: The Cheap Keyboard Phone for Emerging Markets and Hello Kitty Fans

BlackBerry just introduced a cheaper phone. With colors. The new Q5 is the company’s first entry into the mid- to low-cost phone range since introducing its new operating system, BlackBerry 10. The phone is designed and built for emerging markets, …

Newt Gingrich “puzzled” by smartphone in 3 minutes of embarrassment

Newt Gingrich, who is a former House speaker and was a 2012 Republican presidential nominee, is wanting to figure out a colloquial name for the cell phone in today’s modern age. He’s “really puzzled” about what these new contraptions are that run Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc., and he’s wanting your help with what to call these devices.

Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 4.27.57 PM

Gingrich says that most people would call these devices “cell phones,” but he’s not so sure. With all of the things that you can do with a modern handheld device, Gingrich thinks that “cell phone” is obsolete, and we need a new name for what Gingrich calls “handheld computers,” although he thinks that specific name is a bit “misleading,” since the real power of these devices is in the “networking” rather than its computational power.

Gingrich says that “if it can take pictures, then it’s not a cell phone.” He also lists off other examples, such as if it can access a McDonald’s app, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Google, then it’s not a cell phone. So, if it’s not called a “cell phone” or a “handheld computer,” then what is it called? Gingrich wants your help.

However, as expected, many commenters have chimed in saying that “smartphone” has been the agreed-upon name for these devices for several years now, with some commenters stating that fact more nicely than others, but nonetheless, it looks like Gingrich will get his answer fairly easily, and no longer will he have to be puzzled by his iPhone that he holds up in the video.

According to ABC News, though, Gingrich’s press coordinator says that “smartphone” isn’t a viable naming option either, saying that such a device doesn’t offer “a smarter way to make phone calls.” He says that the term “smartphone” still refers to the device as a phone, which isn’t its main function anymore for the most part. Gingrich doesn’t mention “smartphone” in the video, which he probably should have, but either way, we’re not so sure that Gingrich will be able to get the general public to stop calling it a smartphone and call it something else. It’s a term that has been ingrained in users’ heads for too long.

VIA: Gawker


Newt Gingrich “puzzled” by smartphone in 3 minutes of embarrassment is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

New York calls on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung to cut down on phone theft

Mobile phone theft is nothing new, and it happens more often than we think. In New York, especially, is where mobile phone thefts were said to be responsible for the city’s increase in crime. As public safety officials continue to battle thefts, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has sent an open letter to Apple, Google (including Motorola), Microsoft, and Samsung to see if they can help to cut down on phone theft.

htc_samsung_apple-580x32611

In the letter, Schneiderman criticized the companies for not doing their part in curbing mobile device theft. He wrote that the companies were too involved with the bottom line to take a step back and “create technology to render stolen devices inoperable and thereby eliminate the expanding black market on which they are sold.”

Schneiderman also brought up a huge accusation in the open letters, questioning whether or not mobile phone companies weren’t helping out with thefts since they benefit from selling replacement devices to users who had their initial device stolen.

Schneiderman is urging all four companies to talk to his office and brief him on their anti-theft efforts, if any. He also wants these companies to help New York and the rest of the country to figure out ways to cut down on device thefts — methods that police officers don’t have control over, such as implementing technology that shuts down a device when it’s detected as stolen and can locate the suspect.

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Of course, Apple has a feature called Find My iPhone that allows users to do a number of things when their device gets stolen, and they even use the GPS to track the location of the stolen phone, as well as the suspect who stole it. Of course, it isn’t foolproof, and you can easily wipe the device clean to prevent it being tracked. It’s also a feature that isn’t on by default, which could be a reason that a lot of users don’t have the feature enabled.

In any case, we’re interested to see what Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung have to say in response to Schneiderman’s open letter. As to whether these companies will jump in and do their part to prevent device theft is yet to be seen, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they nonchalantly said, “no thanks.”

VIA: Cult of Mac

SOURCE: New York Attorney General


New York calls on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung to cut down on phone theft is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You Don’t Want Amazon’s Smartphone With Holograms

You Don’t Want Amazon’s Smartphone With Holograms

The latest Amazon smartphone rumor has the yet-to-be-announced phone packing a sophisticated 3D holographic screen. This is a very dumb idea. The last place you want images floating in space is your smartphone.

AT&T jumps on the prepaid bus with Aio Wireless

In an effort to compete with T-Mobile’s new prepaid plans, as well as other prepaid carriers in the US, AT&T has launched a new prepaid service subsidiary called Aio Wireless, where users can buy a new phone off-contract and pay for a prepaid plan, but still be able to use AT&T’s towers. The service is only available in Houston, Orlando, and Tampa for the time being.

Screen Shot 2013-05-09 at 12.20.55 PM

The plans are competitive with other prepaid providers out there, and $40 per month will land you unlimited minutes and text messages, as well as 250MB of data. However, if you need more megabytes to get through that whole season of Parks and Recreation on Netflix, you can opt for the $55 per month plan that gives you 2GB of data, or $70 for 7GB of data.

As for the phone selection, you’ll have your pick at numerous devices at different price points, all the way down to $30. However, if it’s an iPhone you’re wanting, you can grab the iPhone 5 for $649. However, Aio Wireless isn’t offering LTE, and there’s no word on whether or not that feature will come eventually, so if you need faster speeds while on the go, maybe look elsewhere.

However, if you simply need something just to get you buy, and you’re set on AT&T’s coverage, Aio Wireless is a viable option. While it’s only available on Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, AT&T says they plan on expanding over the next couple of years, so hold on to your horses if you live elsewhere and are wanting to hop on.


AT&T jumps on the prepaid bus with Aio Wireless is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.