LG reveals Plan to get Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0

Samsung and HTC announcing their plans to roll out Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update to their smartphone lineup, LG too isn't far behind.

The company on its official Mobile Facebook account posted that it will begin offering the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) OS upgrade for a range of its smartphones in the second and third quarters of 2012, which will be followed by a global roll out.

During the second quarter of 2012, LG plans to offer the new OS to smartphones including: Optimus LTE, Prada phone by LG 3.0, the LG Optimus 2X, the LG Optimus Sol, the LG my Touch Q and the LG Eclipse.

In the third quarter, LG Optimus 3D, LG Optimus Black, LG Optimus Big, LG Optimus Q2 and LG Optimus EX will get the upgrade. The company also announced that the exact start dates can vary by market, as each country can have different requirements, depending on the carrier and the smartphone model.

Last week, Samsung too announced that it will offer Android 4.0 update to its Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Tab tablets as early as 2012. Samsung on its official blog had confirmed that the platform update for Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will start in the first quarter of 2012, and other Galaxy devices will follow soon.

The Google's new Android 4.0 brings a complete redesigned user interface with improved multi-tasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and a full Web browsing experience.

The OS also features a new People App which will let users browse pictures, messages and social network updates from friends, family and co-workers. The new OS also packs Face Unlock feature which uses facial recognition to unlock the smartphone.

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Apple Wins Partial Victory on Smartphone Patent Claim - Patent wars

The Taiwanese handset maker HTC has narrowly lost a patent battle with Apple in the United States.

The International Trade Commission found that HTC had infringed on one of the US technology giant's patents.

Any HTC phones that infringe on the patent will be banned from sale in the US from April 19, 2012.

An administrative law judge at the commission had ruled in July that HTC infringed two Apple patents in making its Android smartphones.

Apple had initially accused HTC of infringing 10 patents, but six were dropped from the case.

Apple is embroiled in numerous patent disputes in many countries, most famously with Samsung.

The ITC is an agency that has the power to block the import of products into the United States that it believes violate patents.

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HTC launches Sensation XL in India for INR 39,990

HTC India has launched its second Beats Audio Android phone Sensation XL in country today. Company has priced it at a hefty INR 38,799 (best buy price, MRP is INR 39,990), making it the most expensive Android phone pricing till date in India. Sensation XL will be available in stores country-wide soon.


Features Overview: 

HTC Sensation XL features a 1.5GHz processor, a whopping 4.7 inch display with 800X480p resolution, and Android 2.3. While Sensation XL specifications seem great, display resolution and RAM are slight disappointments. 1GB RAM has become the standard for quite some time for high-end Android devices, but Sensation XL is struck with 768MB, and in terms of display resolution 720p displays are in, HTC could have at-least put a qHD screen.

“With Beats Audio, the HTC Sensation XL continues HTC’s commitment of delivering the best audio possible on your phone whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie or playing a game. This is an amazing example of why our partnership with Beats makes so much sense for customers today and into the future.”
- Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India

Thanks to the poor rupee value for last some days, companies have started pricing their devices higher than usual and Sensation XL is just an example, if we don’t see a correction in rupee value soon upcoming launches will disappoint us because of hefty price tags.

HTC Sensation XL Features & Technical Specifications:

• Qualcomm MSM 8255 1.5GHz processor
• 768MB RAM
• Android 2.3 with HTC Sense
• 16GB Internal storage
• 8MP rear camera with dual LED flash
• 1.3MP front camera
• 1600 mAh battery
• DLNA, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS

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Microsoft launches Mango powered HTC Radar Smart Phone in India - Microsoft back in Smart phone business

Microsoft has finally unveiled Windows Phone 7.5 in India about a year after the launch in US and other countries. 

 The conventional application icons have been replaced by Live Tiles on the Start screen. These Live Tiles provide information and notifications at a glance and are updated in real-time from the Web. The 'Metro' user interface is a visually appealing experience inspired by the clean, alive in motion signage in the real world.

Windows Phone enables quick access to services and to consume content in a seamless manner using integrated experiences called hubs. These hubs bring together related content into a single view.

People: This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together content from your friends on different social networks - Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Windows Live. You can post updates to these networks, and check what your friends are up to.

o Pictures: This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. It also brings together your photos from Windows Live, Facebook, and the ones that you've taken with the phone's camera.

o Games: This hub delivers the Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE (and independent) games. You could set your gamer profile and avatar, and play games.

o Music + Video: This hub provides you a complete media experience. You can listen to radio or music stored on your phone and watch videos. The podcasts that you subscribe through the accompanying Zune software are also available here.

o Marketplace: With over 30,000 apps and games, this hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with apps and games.

o Office: The Office hub allows you to work with your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and take notes using the OneNote app. These can be synchronised with SkyDrive, Office 365 or SharePoint sites so they are available on the phone, PC, and Web.

Announcing the launch of Windows Phone in India, Mr. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India said, "We are incredibly excited about today's unveiling of Windows Phone. With Windows Phone, we have looked at the consumer experience  in an absolutely fresh way, and the end result is an operating system that is  stylish,  innovative,  and  one that seamlessly integrates the  most sought after user experiences such as search, gaming, email and social networks across Bing, Office, Xbox LIVE, Facebook, Twitter and more."

In his presentation, Bhaskar Pramanik also mentioned that Microsoft is working with content publishers and businesses in India for apps for India-specific content and services. He showcased Times of India and Snapdeal.com apps which would soon be available in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

The Windows Phone launch included executives from hardware partners for Windows Phone - Nokia, HTC, Samsung, Acer, and Qualcomm. Microsoft announced a range of Windows Phone devices that will be available in India soon. While HTC Radar would be available in the markets starting next week for INR 23,990, Samsung Omnia W and Acer Allegro would be available in November. Samsung had earlier this month announced the price for Omnia W as INR 19,990. Subsequently, Nokia would also launch Windows Phone devices in India, and other countries.

Speaking about analyst predictions of Windows Phone being the No.2 smartphone platform by 2015, Vikas Arora, Group Director - Operator Channel, Microsoft, said that he'll be disappointed with No.2 position. He obviously would be taking cognisance of the fact that even though it's a crowded market, it is a steeply growing market. While Microsoft is confident of the product and the reviews are great, it would be a tough challenge to penetrate iPhone's hype, BlackBerry's enterprise hold, and a market flooded with Android devices at every price point.

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Top 5 features of HTC Explorer - The cheapest smartphone from HTC

The HTC Explorer - The cheapest smartphone from HTC , has many attractive features. 

Technical Specifications

It has 3.2-inch TFT touchscreen along with Android 2.3 – Gingerbread OS. It has a 600 MHz CPU along with an Adreno 200 GPU and 384 MB RAM.

The handset is equipped with Wi-Fi, 3G capability and Bluetooth 3.0. It offers a 3-megapixel camera. Along with that, the set is pre-loaded with Facebook, Friend Stream and YouTube.

 It is powered by a 1230 mAh Li-ion battery.

Top 5 features of HTC Explorer :

Affordable pricing

The HTC Explorer is priced at Rs. 12,650 and available at Best buy for Rs. 11,650. It is HTC’s first attempt at targeting the budget smartphone consumer.

 

The pricing is quite suited to the average Indian consumer who looks for affordability and features in a handset. The handset is packed with good features, looks stylish and seems a good buy. 

Indian Apps

The HTC explorer has been customized to suit the requirements of Indian consumers. It is pre-loaded with many attractive India-centric applications like Saavn, Bollywood Hungama, eBuddy, XMS and HTC Flashlight.     

HTC has collaborated with NDTV to provide apps like NDTV news and NDTV Cricket. Along with that it offers attractive games such as Asphalt Adrenalin, Uno and Cricket pro.

Attractive Tariff plans

HTC has launched the Explorer in partnership with Vodafone. The handset comes with attractive tariff plans for Internet browsing.

Vodafone would offer 200MB for Rs. 100, 1 GB for Rs. 375 and 2 GB for Rs. 650 to HTC Explorer users.

Enhanced web browsing experience

The HTC Explorer has been designed to provide a convenient and user-friendly web browsing experience. The handset automatically adjusts the text size of a website to your handset, so that you can easily read and browse the net.

HTC Sense UI

If there is one thing that differentiates the HTC Explorer from other budget handsets, it is the handset’s Sense UI.

The HTC Sense UI enables the handset to have a user-friendly touch, access apps right from the homescreen. In addition to that, the handset has been equipped with a new feature.

When a person calls you, you would be able to see not only the contact info. of the caller, but also his/ her last social interaction, last update etc. which makes it an exciting way to socialize and keep in touch.

The handset has an easy-to-use slidelock similar to one featured on handsets such as the Sensation and the Desire.

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