Samsung launches its Music Hub service in the United States

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6 hours agobyStefan3 comments

Samsung launched its own mobile music service in the United States. The Samsung Music Hub will be initially available on the Galaxy S III smartphones offered by AT&T and US Cellular. Availability for the rest of the flagship’s carrier versions is yet to be announced.

The service will be offered in free and premium variations with the latter set to cost $9.99 a month. New users will get a free 30-day trial of the Premium suite as well as a free album of their choice.

Powered by technology from the recently acquired by Samsung company mSpot, the Music Hub features a streaming catalog with integrated access to a music store, as well as the ability to upload your own collection of tunes to the cloud for streaming from compatible devices, including a web-based player. Personal radio streaming service is also available in the premium version of the Music Hub.

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Eliana Adriana Chandra Buana

Sony is yet to decide which 2011 Xperia phones will get Jelly Bean

When a Sony spokesman let it slip that the company wouldn't update its 2011 Xperia Android smartphones to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, users got upset. Big time!

But now it's time to turn that frown upside down, for Sony has released an official statement that this information was given "in error". The company says it's still researching which of the devices will actually get to receive the tasty Jell Bean update.

We are actively investigating Android OS upgrades for all devices, but in the meantime, our Ice Cream Sandwich rollout for Xperia S and 2011 Xperia smartphones continues as planned.

This is great news for owners of 2011 Xperia devices like the Xperia Arc and Xperia Mini Pro. All there's left to do now is wait and believe in Sony, though at that rate, we wouldn't expect ay update earlier than the holiday season.

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Snapdragon S4 Pro benchmarked, crushes older chipsets

The lucky geeks at Engadget got their hands on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro MDP (Mobile Developer Platform) and managed to run several benchmarks on it. The Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset in question is APQ8064 - with a quad-core Krait processor and Adreno 320 GPU. It should come as no surprise then that it managed to beat current chipsets quite easily.

Krait is a newer architecture than Cortex-A9 (which powers the likes of Tegra 3 and Exynos 4 Quad chipsets) and even dual-core Kraits usually come close to quad-core A9's in tests. The brand new Adreno GPU turned out quite powerful too - it's a new design compared to the 2xx series.

Here are the benchmark results obtained:

	S4 Pro MDP (APQ8064)	Nexus 7 (Tegra 3)	Galaxy S III (Exynos 4412)	One X (Tegra 3)	Galaxy S III (AT&T, MSM8960)	One X (AT&T, MSM8960)
Quadrant	7,698	3,501	4,454	4,906	5,084	4,784
Vellamo	2,538	1,650	1,751	1,617	2,153	2,259
AnTuTu	13,826	8,995	11,960	11,030	6,713	6,956
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms)	1,227	1,785	1,460	1,773	1,926	1,453
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps)	132	63	99	63	54	56
CF-Bench	18,219	11,807	13,110	13,233	9,439	9,479
SunSpider: lower scores are better

The processor offers double the performance of a dual-core Krait CPU according to CF-Bench (no surprise here) and a big improvement on the quad-core Cortex-A9 chipsets. The SunSpider results also improved even though JavaScript isn't exactly multicore-friendly.

GLBenchmark shows GPU performance has more than doubled since Adreno 225 and easily beats Tegra 3's GeForce GPU. The Mali-400MP in the Exynos chipset comes closer, but is still over 30fps behind.

Those are some very impressive results, but it will be a while before we see the beastly chipest inside a consumer product. S4 Pro chipsets will probably debut on tablets, seeing how every major smartphone maker has already unveiled its flagship phone (besides Apple, but theyll use their own design anyway).

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Samsung Galaxy S III update does away with universal search

The latest 'stability' update for the international Samsung Galaxy S III no longer lets you search your local data (such as contacts and media files), due to legal pressure from Apple.

This comes after a similar patch removed universal search functionality from the Sprint and AT&T variants of the Galaxy S III in the US a couple of weeks ago. The driving force behind the downgrade is the search feature patented by Apple was found to be violated in Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, which, as you'll recall, was temporarily banned from sale in the US because of this.

It is a bit of a mystery why Samsung has decided to remove this feature on the international version as well, since Apple have yet to pursue any patent infringements overseas, but it's most likely a preventative measure by Samsung, who don't want to impede the S III's stellar sales record.

This update does not necessarily mean that we've seen the last of local device search on the S III, but until Samsung finds an alternative, know that the latest firmware version XXLG6 does away with this functionality.

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Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite Android tablet comes with an aluminum unibody, yet uncofirmed specs

Huawei just announced a new 7? Android tablet – the MediaPad 7 Lite. With Google’s Nexus 7 tablet on the market, there isn’t a lot of room for 7? droid tablets but the Huawei offering does have a few things the pureblood tablet doesn’t.

First off, the Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite has an aluminum unibody design. Then there’s the 3G connectivity (with voice calls and SMS), along with cameras on the front and the back. The tablet seems to be running stock Android ICS, but Huawei really thrifty with the details.

From one of the images it seems that it has two slots hidden under flaps – presumably one is for the SIM card and the other for a microSD card (which would be another advantage over the Nexus 7), but nothing on the official page confirms it.

Actually, that’s all we know about the MediaPad 7 Lite for now – the processor is unknown and there’s no info on pricing, markets or launch date. Without this, we don’t know how it stacks up against the $200 Nexus tablet with a quad-core processor and guaranteed OS updates (but no 3G, cameras or microSD card slot).

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London’s Stratford Holiday Inn turns Samsung Galaxy S III into the ultimate key card

This is not the first time we see a smartphone replace a hotel’s key cards, but is probably the most interesting one.

Samsung teamed up with the Stratford Holiday Inn hotel in London to bring a completely new experience to its guests. If you pay for one of the 40 VIP rooms you will get a Galaxy S III phone with pre-installed and customized Holiday Inn app capable of check in/out, lock/unlock, TV remote, room service and more.

And once the Olympics start, you will be able to get everything you need to know from this app – results, schedules, information, etc.

The Galaxy S III feature might be expanded over the entire hotel later.

Samsung is the official worldwide Olympic partner for mobile communications and the Galaxy S III has been named the official phone of the Olympics. The company’s flagship is already selling like hotcakes with 10 million units milestone already reached, but it’s certain to feel another boost with the heavy promotion surrounding the Olympics.

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The tough Sony Xperia go lands at the office, stands in front of our camera

The Sony Xperia go is here and is ready to get the GSMArena review treatment. The rugged droid will be eyed by many as it seems like one of the best smartphones you can take to the beach with you.

The Xperia go is descendant of the Xperia Active, a tough little droid, which we met (and loved) at the end of last year. The new smartphone fixes two of the main shortcomings of its predecessor by offering a larger 3.5? LCD at the front and a beefier dual-core processor under the hood, so it’s certainly an interesting package.

The Sony Xperia Go is IP67 certified meaning it can withstand water up to 1 meter for under 30 minutes and is completely dust resistant. Additionally, the smartphone can handle the occasional knock and drop without being seriously hurt thanks to its reinforced glass.

Here’s our video of the Sony Xperia go in action.

As you heard we are not particularly fond of the Sony Xperia go back panel, but overall the smartphone feels really snappy and seems to provide a solid smartphone exeprience.

The Sony Xperia Go at HQ

We’re on the already working on a full-fledged review of the Sony Xperia go so stay tuned.

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LG posts net profit in Q2, but not from selling phones

LG handed in its report card for Q2 of this year. Overall the company did well, but the mobile phone division continues to struggle. The other divisions picked up the slack though and the company's profit increased compared to the same quarter last year.

The Mobile Communications division (which handles phones and network equipment) shipped 13.1 million phones, noting decreasing demand for featurephones and strong sales for LTE-enabled phones.

LG sold handsets worth $1.98 billion in Q2, a 28.6% decline year on year and 6.8% decline quarter on quarter. That resulted in an operating loss of $51 million, compared to $48 million loss during Q2 of last year. Part of the operating loss is attributed to increased marketing expenses.

LG expects to see even more demand for LTE phones in Q3, but also tougher competition from other companies and their new flagship models. The company plans to continue bringing out new LTE phones in the developed markets and try to improve its marketing and supply chain.

The consolidated sales of LG went up to $12.5 billion (up both QoQ and YoY) and the operating profit increased to $303 million (up from $137 million in Q2 2011). Net profit was $138 million.

Home Appliances saw improvements in sales and profit both QoQ and YoY, while sales from the other divisions decreased compared to last year. They (aside from the Mobile Communications division) did improve quarter on quarter though.

You can find LG's detailed Q2 financial report, including more on how each of its divisions did, over here (PDF).

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Samsung Galaxy Beam review: Home cinema

Introduction

The first attempts at a projector phone didn't quite work out for Samsung. For many that would be enough to call it a day, but not the Koreans. You don't become the world's number 1 phone manufacturer by giving up easily, so Samsung chose to take a step back, learn from mistakes and give it another go.

The Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam takes a completely different approach to making a projector phone and a smartphone work together. Last time around, with the original Beam, Samsung took a high-end device and slapped a rather advanced projector on its back, effectively ending up with something very thick and expensive, which was nearly impossible to sell. Thicker devices lack the high-end vibe one normally associates with smartphones in that price range, so it never really managed to get going.

Samsung I8350 Galaxy Beam official photos

The I8530 Galaxy Beam on the other hand aims far lower - it's based on a mid-range phone and throws in a projector that's good enough for casual use. Serious, corporate use is out of the question here, but that was never in the requirements, and you get a more compact and reasonably priced package instead. Now add the NovaThor chipset and its dual-core CPU and you get a deal that's definitely worth a second look.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM /GPRS/EDGE support


• 3G with 14.4 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA


• 4" 16M-color capacitive LED-backlit PLS TFT touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels), Scratch-resistant glass


• Built-in DLP nHD projector


• Android OS v2.3.7 Gingerbread, planned Android 4.0 ICS update


• Dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, 768MB RAM, Mali-400 GPU, NovaThor U8500 chipset


• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash and geotagging, Multi Angle shot


• 720p video recording @ 30fps


• VGA front-facing camera


• Wi-Fi b/g/n and DLNA


• Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS


• 8GB built-in storage expandable through the microSD card slot


• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0


• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack


• Stereo FM radio with RDS


• Rich retail package


• Voice dialing


• Adobe Flash 11 support


• Accelerometer and proximity sensor

Main disadvantages

• No Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box


• All plastic construction


• Feeble loudspeaker


• NovaThor U8500 is the least powerful of the dual-core offerings on the market


• Thicker and heavier than mid-range competition

So, the Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam is basically a Galaxy Ace 2 with an extra DLP projector and a slightly faster CPU. The lack of character in the overcrowded mid-range was the main thing wrong with the Samsung mid-range flagship, and it seems like the Beam made easy work of adding some.

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam at ours

However, for all its sensible, down-to-earth approach, the Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam still ends up priced notably higher than smartphones using the same screens and based on the same chipsets. So it will have to try and convince us that it's really offering something extra.

Good build quality would be a nice start - follow us on the next page where the hardware checkup begins.

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Eliana Adriana Chandra Buana

Nokia completes Scalado technology acquisition

Today Nokia announced that they have completed the acquisition of technologies, developers and intellectual property from imaging software specialists Scalado. The Finns first hinted at this deal last month, and they are now ready to finalize it.

As you may know, due to some reasons that the two companies have chosen not to disclose, Nokia is not actually buying the Scalado company, but only its personnel and technology. From a users' perspective there's little difference though, as the cool software features developed by the Swedish-based company will soon be making their way to Nokia smartphones.

In fact, Nokia Lumia users have already started seeing the benefits of the Nokia Scalado partnership with the camera extras update that was delivered at the end of June.

With hints getting stronger and stronger that we might see the first PureView-packing Lumia smartphone this Fall, the completion of this deal could only lead to more good news for cameraphone lovers. Imagine the power of that huge sensor combined with impressive software tricks like Scalado Remove and Scalado Rewind and Smart Group Shot.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 Note new specs revealed

Samsung is obviously finding it hard to keep the revamped Galaxy Note 10.1 under wraps. The slate was announced back on the MWC in February, but never made it to the shelves and was returned to the company’s R&D center for a specs overhaul instead.

It was just yesterday when we saw the Galaxy Note 10.1 S-Pen ad on YouTube. Today, some lucky guy from Korea managed to get a retail Galaxy Note 10.1 unit and was kind enough to share the unboxing pictures and the official specs of the slate with the rest of us.

Just as expected, the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 now runs on the Exynos 4412 chipset (the one that powers the Galaxy S III), sporting a 1.4GHz quad-core processor. The RAM has been upped to 2GB, while the rear camera has been upgraded to 5MP resolution. The 1.9MP front camera and a 7000 mAh battery haven’t received any updates.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 unboxed

The slate has a 10.1-inch 1280×800 PLS display and runs Android 4.0 ICS – despite the delay the slate won’t be getting to taste Jelly Bean out of the box.

We expect the Galaxy Note 10.1 to be (re)unveiled in New York on August 15. Keep in mind the Galaxy Note 10.1 specs quoted here are for the Korean version and the international one might be slightly different. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

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Toshiba announces REGZA T-02D Android smartphone for Japan

The T-02D is the latest in Toshiba's range of REGZA smartphones for Japan. This one comes with a 13.1 megapixel Sony EXMOR R BSI sensor and claims to go as high as ISO 25,600 equivalent ISO, although what kind of images you'll get at that sensitivity remains to be seen.

Other features on this phone include a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 4.3-inch, qHD NEW AMOLED Plus display with Corning Gorilla Glass coating, fingerprint sensor, water IPX5/8) and dust-resistance (IPX5), 1,800mAh battery and Android 4.0.

The phone will be available on NTT DOCOMO network, starting July 26.

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Crytek’s senior lightning artist leaks breathtaking Crysis 3 screenshots

Crysis has always been famous with its awesome graphics and expectations have always been tremendous. The first game was a breakthrough in the PC graphics, but the second one couldn’t quite achieve the same heights due to its multi-platform nature. Still, Crysis 2 remained an amazing looking game and we were curious to see what its successor will look like.

On this year’s E3 Crytek showed a short but stunning demo of Crysis 3 in action. Today a few screenshots of the demo’s Canyon environment leaked for us to feast our eyes on.

The leak came from Crytek’s senior lightning artist Pierre-Yves Donzallaz, who posted the shots on his blog, but later took them down. Luckily, the time those juicy shots spent online was enough for them to be downloaded and shared around the web.

According to Donzallaz, those shots are “100% realtime lighting and postprocessing“. If that’s true, well…Crysis 3 will be in the running for the best looking game ever.

I am a fan of the otherwise considered mediocre Crysis series and I personally can’t wait to run this thing on a powerful gaming PC next February. Sure, the PS3 and Xbox 360 version will look awesome too, but PC has always been where Crysis titles feel most at home.

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Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 Android ICS tablet goes on sale in the US, brings along an optional keyboard dock

Lenovo just put the IdeaTab S2110 on sale in the US – it’s a 10? Android ICS tablet with an optional keyboard dock, a la Asus Transformer. The keyboard dock features a battery that boosts battery life by 10 hours, two full-size USB ports and a 3-in-1 SD card reader.

The tablet itself features a 10.1? IPS LCD display, a 5MP main camera (with LED flash), 1.3MP front-facing camera and a pair of speakers with SRS TruMedia enhancement. The Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 APQ8060A chipset with two Krait cores clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM and Adreno 225 GPU.

Other features of the Lenovo IdeaTab S2110 include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, optional 3G connectivity, A-GPS (for the 3G-enabled model), microHDMI port and even FM radio. The battery in the tablet promises 10 hours of battery life (plus another 10 if you put it in the keyboard dock). The tablet alone weighs 590g.

Here’s a closer look at the microHDMI port, the keys on the dock and the USB ports:

US users can purchase the IdeaTab S2110 straight from Lenovo’s site – the 16GB tablet will set you back $343 or (if you want the keyboard dock too) $399. For the 32GB version, just add $32. There are optional covers for the tablet too (look familiar, don’t they?).

By the way, the price gets this low only with an eCoupon, so if you want one, you’d better act before the promotion expires (I couldn’t find a date when that might happen).

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Purported images of the next generation iPhone leaks

We have seen leaked images of the next generation iPhone before but those were just of the aluminum back shell.

Today, we have what looks like a completely assembled device placed next to the current iPhone 4S. As before, the device is noticeably longer pointing towards a bigger, widescreen display. We can see edge to edge glass on top and the black aluminum body on the side.

The previous pictures also denoted a two tone back, with plastic/glass on the top and bottom and aluminum in the middle. In these, however, the back seems to be of a single color. The bottom has also been redesigned with a completely new, smaller dock connector, large grilles for the speaker and microphone and a headphone jack, which has been relocated to the bottom.

As is often the case, one should take these with a pinch of salt. Still, these are some fairly convincing images. We'll be seeing more of these as the launch of the next generation iPhone draws closer.

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Nokia Series 40 devices got an official Twitter app

Here’s another step towards becoming smarter for Nokia’s Series 40 OS for entry level devices. The users of the aforementioned handsets can now download and install an official Twitter application from the Nokia Store.

Twitter’s official application joins the likes of Facebook and Google+, thus allowing you to enjoy every major social network on your entry-level Nokia.

Excited? You can go ahead and download the app over here. As always your comments on your experience with it are welcome in the section below.

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HTC Desire C review: Welcome aboard

Introduction

Are you a seasoned Android user looking for ICS on a budget or a learner ready for that big step into smartphones? Is it the journey or the destination? HTC will be pleased to welcome you on board either way. And they're making sure you start on the right foot.

Meet the Desire C. The little one at the feet of giants. The adopted child of the blue-bloods in the One family. The HTC Desire C is about half the size of a One X and has only a fraction of its processing power but the C in the name doesn't only signify compact, it also stands for comfort and capability.

The Taiwanese have a solid record in the entry-level smartphone segment. To be fair, their pricing is not the most competitive but the build, fit and finish of their smartphones are hard to beat. Beauty anyway is in the eye of the beholder, so here are the solid facts about the Desire C.

Key features

• Light and compact


• Quad-band GSM and dual-band 3G support


• 14.4 Mbps HSDPA, 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support


• 3.5" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of HVGA resolution (320 x 480)


• 600MHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 MSM7227A chipset, Cortex A5 CPU, 512MB RAM, Adreno 200 GPU


• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with HTC Sense 4 UI


• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with hotspot functionality


• GPS with A-GPS connectivity


• 5 MP camera, geotagging, face detection


• VGA video @ 24fps


• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v3.0


• microSD slot (up to 32GB)


• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack


• Accelerometer, proximity sensor


• Polaris Office doc viewer / editor


• 25GB of free Dropbox


• Stereo FM radio with RDS


• Smart dialing


• DivX/XviD video support


• HTCSense.com integration


• Adobe Flash support


• Surprisingly good audio output

Main disadvantages

• Feeble CPU


• Modest retail package


• Fixed-focus camera


• No front-facing camera

That's a long list of features showing HTC have done their homework. Entry-level phones are usually ranked by the best bang-for-the-buck and the Desire C appears equipped well above the average. The biggest doubt is cast by the single-core 600MHz Cortex A5 processor but running Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box is a nice way to make amends. This market is all about give and take.

The Desire C is super compact and lightweight for an amazingly comfortable feel in hand. It's still very well put together and oozes the usual HTC quality. Follow us after the break for more on the design and construction.

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Eliana Adriana Chandra Buana