When Samsung started distributing invitations to its special event in London on 3 May, almost everyone assumed it was to be for the long-awaited Galaxy S III smartphone, however, as the invite merely said ‘come and meet the next Galaxy,’ there was a tiny, tiny chance it would be for a new tablet or some other Galaxy phone.

While that would be an incredibly cruel trick to play, the doubt was probably there in the back of everyone’s minds. Thankfully though, a source at Samsung has spoken to TheVerge and said that yes, the new Galaxy S III will be revealed during the event.

Almost nothing at all is known about Samsung’s new flagship Android phone, not even its official name, but it’s rumoured to feature a quad-core processor – possibly Samsung’s own Exynos chip – a big screen with a high definition resolution and a swanky chassis design.

Others are warning that the phone may not be as incredible as we all hope it will be, suggesting it’s an incremental update over the S II, much like the iPhone 4S was to the iPhone 4. There’s even talk that a variant will turn out to be Samsung’s official Olympic phone, which will be given to athletes and then sold as a limited run around the world.

There’s now exactly two weeks to go until we find out what the real story is, as Samsung’s big event starts at 7pm on 3 May.

Related Posts:

• BlackBerry Curve 9220 Features
• BlackBerry Curve 9220 Price
• Blackberry Curve 9360 Features
• Blackberry Curve 9360 Specifications
• BlackBerry Curve 9320 Price

MIPS processor based smartphones and tablets may soon be able to run Android apps, EETimes has reported. The website said that Android maker Google is expected to issue native developer kits with bundled GNU compiler for MIPS within weeks.

GNU compiler is meant for developing applications for a particular processor architecture. Currently, Android apps natively support only ARM processors.

It is to be noted here that MIPS processors cost a lot less than ARM processors and hence if Google goes with its decision as reported it will lead to the making of cheaper Android devices.

In India there is no tablet with MIPS technology. However, many, like Novo 7, are available through online retailers like eBay. Also, MIPS based tablets with Android 4.0 operating system will soon hit Indian markets at prices below Rs 5,000.

“Google has started to take notice of the volume shipments of MIPS-based Android tablets,” said Amit Rohatgi, principal mobile architect at MIPS, speaking at the Linley Tech Mobile Conference.

About 1.8 million MIPS-based Android tablets have shipped to date, Rohatgi said. These are mainly low cost systems from Chinese manufacturers, powered by MIPS processor.

There are reports that MIPS is looking for buyers due to declining financial results. The architecture has a solid base in networking and set-top boxes, but has yet to gain a broad foothold in mobiles where ARM holds sway.

Code for running Android apps on MIPS already exists. Getting Google to bundle it all as part of its standard releases is expected to ease the sometimes tedious job of integrating all the software needed to support the architecture.

With this move by Google low cost smartphones and tablets based on Android will get a boost and there will be a further reduction in prices, which currently start at just below Rs 5,000 for smartphones.

Samsung has today announced a promotional offer for Galaxy Note buyers. Under the scheme, a person buying the 5.29 inch smartphone between today and May 31, 2012, can avail a Sennheiser headphone, download music and games including Angry Birds Space and a flip cover – all these for free.

Samsung has sold more than 5 million units of Galaxy Note worldwide since its launch in November last year. This iconic device, which is hailed as an amalgamation of tablet and smartphone, comes with Android 2.3 operating system but will soon be upgraded to Android 4.0 soon. It has a 1.4 Ghz Dual Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor for ultra smooth function.

Besides, it has an 8 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front camera, WiFi Direct, and 5.29 inch super Amoled touchscreen. Notably, it can record full HD movies at at 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution (30 fps. The device is available for Rs 30,700 in India.

We know what many of you are thinking; you’ve heard all this before, right? Samsung has been trying to update the Galaxy S II to Ice Cream Sandwich for months now, and despite saying it was all ready to go in the middle of March, the update never really made it to many devices.

Worst of all was that SIM-free Galaxy S II owners were being denied the update, while those with phones with a carrier lock were receiving it; an unexpected turn of events given it was usually the exact opposite. This was apparently due to Samsung needing approval from all the networks before it could begin distributing it.

Today, a spokesperson for Samsung has spoken to CNET UK and said that all these problems have now been resolved, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is ready for those with SIM-free S II phones.

To get the update, you’ll have to fire up Samsung’s Kies software on your computer, and then either connect using a USB cable, or via Wi-Fi using the Kies app on your phone. A quick update check should reveal the software is ready to download.

Vodafone has also joined the Ice Cream Sandwich update party, and those on that network should be able to update to the latest version of the software too.

Earlier this week Sony announced it was still on track to bring Ice Cream Sandwich to its Xperia range of phones, and the new version would be coming in less than six weeks time.

Popular Indian newspaper Dainik Jagran that has presence in over 17 states across the country has announced the launch of its applications for both Android and iOS smartphones.

With this application the company aims at delivering the latest news to smartphone users on the go. The application provides news from politics, world events, sports, entertainment, business etc.

At present, the app only provides news in Hindi, but it is expected that developers will also make English news available through the application, though there has been no announcement on that. As of now, the application supports Android devices running version 2.1 and above, and devices running iOS version 3.0 and above that support Hindi.

The application also allows users to share news articles using social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Along with that users also have the option to share news using the native email client on the device.

Along with that the application allows users to stay updated with news related to their city and locality as well, with a special section for local news. Users can very easily select their city from a list and get news related to that city delivered on their smartphone.

Interested users can download the application on their Android or iOS smartphones from the Google Play store and Apple app store, respectively, or else can also follow the Android link and iOS link.

Next Story

• Mobile
  

  RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 Ferrari Edition surfaces online

Google recently released a video of “Project Glass”, its concept of an augmented reality system, triggering a wave of posts asking “Wow, can they really do that?”. Followed by a tsunami of shouting “Not even nearly”. It is an excellent piece of science-fiction, but in terms of launchable products they might as well have played a clip of Star Trek.

Augmented Reality is the idea of improving the real world by filling it with pretend items. This is a very good idea, and one we’re already putting into practice (whose life hasn’t been improved by Harry Potter, Mario, or movies with the carefully constructed artificial shell built around Tom Cruise?). But since these figures can only live in pages or on screens, the next step is to stick a screen over our eyes to have them appear everywhere.

The Project Glass demo shows off a few of the first-draft applications of such a system: easy access to maps, videochat with far-away people, the ability to check your e-mail while walking down the street until you comically fall into roadworks and die (they cut away before that bit). The slim and stylish camera frames Google’s engineers have  used aren’t as bulky as most heads-up display (HUD) units, for the simple reason that they aren’t a heads-up display unit.

The tiny nub in the corner of those lenses could just about show you a power light, not an entire alternate reality. Miniaturized projection systems, transparent glass displays, holography, none of the system even remotely capable of doing what the video claims it can. Which makes it weird. Google has a habit of turning up with almost-completed items we didn’t even know we wanted yet, so it’s strange to see it waving vague promises of “That cool thing, sure, we’ll have that”.

Despite featuring more Google fantasy than a fifteen year-old’s browser history, Project Glass is still brilliant. Because it’s saying that there’s no reason for smartphones to still look like phones. In remote regions, a communications device might still be a specialist tool, but in the world of always-on communications people are more aware of their online status than their heart rate. Handheld tools are things you use often but not always, like forks or screwdrivers. Phones are always on and taken everywhere and, like clothes, we consider going outside without them kind of crazy. So we should be wearing phones as well.

Wristphones have never taken off, despite the James Bond retro coolness, and phone pendants have always been more about style than easy use. Glasses might not be the best choice, but at least they get rid of the “clunky little box you hold” idea. And glasses have always been associated with being smart. What will be interesting is when Apple decides to shift the shape of a phone. Which it will eventually, because it needs to make some kind of change to sell a new model every year (and when Camp Cupertino does it, the rest will follow. Because even if people reject the idea of a phone gaining four eyes, Apple could release an impenetrable iBlindfold and it would still sell a million units.

Google may look at Motorola in a soup but the company continues to work on Android OS based devices. After introducing DROID 4 XT894 CDMA version, Motorola plans bring out its GSM version with model number – XT898. The User Agent Profile of the Motorola XT898 states that it will have a qHD display. No further details of this smartphone were obtained.

Motorola DROID 4 XT894 is a CDMA networks supporting smartphone with 4-inch touchscreen display with 960×540 pixel resolution. This smartphone has slide out QWERTY keyboard and 8 megapixel camera at the back to record full 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second.

The new User Agent profile of Motorola XT898 and also Wi-Fi certification indicates that the phone is almost ready for launch. This Motorola XT898 from the chronological point of view appears to be yet another DROID series slider iteration model albeit in GSM/UMTS version.

The Motorola XT898 smartphone will feature 960×540 pixel resolution and would most likely feature 4-inch touchscreen display. The smartphone will also feature QWERTY keypad and most likely similar features as that of DROID 4 XT894 model. So the XT898 appears to be a world edition of the DROID 4 handset. Only aspect worth waiting for this handset will feature Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich by default.

As of now, there are no images or further details available on this handset but we expect Motorola to announce this handset at the CTIA- Wireless 2012 event in the first week of the next month.

Canonical, a company behind the Linux based Ubuntu desktop OS has put up a job opening on its website for a Business Development Manager (Ubuntu Phone OS).

It hints that the company might be at advanced stages of developing the smartphone version of the popular open source desktop operating system.

The group is looking for a business development lead to engage and develop strong relationships with industry partners in the run up to the launch of Ubuntu as a smartphone operating system, with the goal of establishing a commercial ecosystem around Ubuntu as a smartphone OS.

Jane Silber, chief executive officer of Canonical has said in an interview to InfoWorld in January this year “There is a real demand for an alternative platform. We believe Ubuntu has all the characteristics that are needed to become that platform.”

If indeed what we are reading is true Canonical is preparing to take on Android head on, both the operating systems are based on Linux and are open source. However given the fact that Google (which owns Android) has a huge ecosystem backing its OS, it will be an uphill task for Canonical to even grab a small piece of the pie.