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Tag: android

  • Sales Below Expectations For Nokia Lumia 800

    Nokia Lumia 800, although very promising at the time of launch, fails to stop the Finnish manufacturer from its sharp decline in the smart devices market.

    Despite efforts made by Nokia to promote their new model Lumia 800 and the encouraging sales figures announced at the time of launch, the reality seems to be different at all. The direction taken by Nokia Lumia 800 is actually moving toward sales far below the Finnish manufacturer's expectations.

    According to analyst James Faucett at Pacific Crest, if current trends maintain, sales figures for the Lumia 800 will not exceed 500,000 pieces sold, four times less than expected by Nokia.

    Given that the design team has done their homework, creating a very successful handset, which should easily convince the audience it is addressed, the only culprit remains its operating system – Windows Phone 7.5, still regarded with suspicion by many users.

    Nokia can only hope not to end the year with disastrous financial results. They only have the winter shopping season, which could raise again the sales figures.

    Unfortunately, at least for now, the partnership between Nokia and Microsoft does not seem to give the results foreseen by the CEO Stephen Elop, putting the company in disadvantage by using a too-new operating system, with many limitations artificially imposed and unable to convince in front of the competition presented by Google's Android and Apple's iOS.

    Despite the optimism shown by Nokia, the success that Lumia 800 enjoys in the UK cannot be entirely attributed to the design team. Orange UK recently launched a very aggressive campaign to promote Nokia’s handsets, rewarding about half of customers who have pre-ordered the phone with an xBox console completely free. As expected, the offer was very useful, even if it’s just a low-end version of the xBox console.

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    BitDefender Launches Mobile Security for Android Smartphones
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  • BitDefender Launches Mobile Security for Android Smartphones

    BitDefender, one of the leading antivirus vendors in the world, has launched BitDefender Mobile Security, an application specially designed for Android smartphones.

    The solution proposed by the Romanian company protects the users of smartphones and tablets against all the malware for Android, expanding BitDefender’s technological competence from desktop solutions to security applications for mobile devices.

    In terms of technological solution, BitDefender Mobile Security is based heavily on the in-the-cloud scanning, so that the process of scanning the application to be made with maximum efficiency and only when necessary. This is why the fingerprint of the security solution is minimal in terms of hardware resource consumption, fact certified in the “real life” by the more than 120,000 beta testers of BitDefender Mobile Security.

    Apart from the minimal impact on processing speed, the battery of mobile equipment is the second major beneficiary, the application having very little influence on energy consumption. "BitDefender Mobile Security is an excellent example demonstrating that an application can be very strong in the level of protection and also amazing when it comes to economic resources or battery," said Alex Balan, Senior Product Manager at Bitdefender .

    "The very high performance of our application is guaranteed by the years of experience in the malware field, BitDefender technologies being certified and awarded internationally. Finally, we are among the most experienced in-the-cloud developers, so that our security solution extensively uses this resource, the concept of "mobile security" becoming truly mobile," he added.

    BitDefender Mobile Security includes features such as Application Audit, Anti-Theft or Web Security, which help the user preserve privacy, to protect themselves against all the threats or even to recover a lost or stolen mobile device.

    Commercially speaking, the BitDefender security solution is a “freemium” type of product, meaning the application can be downloaded for free from the Android Market.

  • Official: Motorola Mobility To Be Bought by Google for $ 12.5 Billion

    It's official! Motorola Mobility shareholders have approved the transaction by which the company will be acquired by Google for $ 12.5 billion, but the ball is now in the competition authorities' field, which have already opened an investigation after which they will also have to give their consent for this transaction.

    Motorola expects the deal will be completed at the beginning of 2012. In mid-August Google announced that it would buy Motorola Mobility in what is the biggest transaction in the history of web giant.

    Motorola shareholders approved unanimously the transaction, the company being convinced that competition authorities will also give their consent. U.S authorities have also opened an investigation in September in order to see if a so big transaction has or not a negative impact over the market competition.

    Motorola estimates that all approvals will be obtained before the beginning of 2012, and the transaction will be initiated at that time.

    Motorola Mobility separated earlier this year by Motorola Group, which five years ago started to have serious difficulties in mobile segment, but also because they didn’t react quickly enough to come up with competitive touchscreen devices.

    Motorola recorded in 2009 losses of $ 1.2 billion and last year earned operational profit of $ 76 million.

    Explaining why Motorola, the company in Mountain View mentioned in the press release of announcing this important transaction that this company has 80 years of history, invented the mobile phone three decades ago and in 2008 decided to use Android OS on the entire range of smartphones, being among the first large companies that have adopted this operating system.

    Google made a stock of Android adoption and says that over 150 million terminals were activated since 2007 and so far, and 550.000 are added daily.

    Android handsets are sold in 123 countries under the logos of 30 smartphones manufacturers.

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    Kaspersky Lab In a Partnership with TAG Heuer
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    HTC Edge – The First Smartphone with Quad-Core Processor

  • Kaspersky Lab In a Partnership with TAG Heuer

    Kaspersky Lab has signed a partnership agreement with TAG Heuer, the famous Swiss luxury watches manufacturer. The latter, in collaboration with ModeLabs Manufacture, launched the first luxury smartphone with touchscreen, called TAG Heuer Link, which runs Google’s Android.

    For this new smartphone, Kaspersky Lab developed TAG Heuer Mobile Security (powered by Kaspersky), a security solution, which is offering a high level of data stored in the phone.

    “Kaspersky Lab and TAG Heuer share common values, such as cutting-edge technology and an ongoing process of innovation,” said Eugene Kaspersky, President and CEO at Kaspersky Lab. “TAG Heuer Mobile Security is our first project in the luxury segment and we want to further develop this partnership.”

    The new smartphone TAG Heuer Link is a powerful communication tool, developed by Swiss engineers, assembled in France and equipped with Android OS. According to the company, TAG Heuer Link was made with quality materials and with the most advanced components used in horology and automotive industries, including diamonds and pink gold. The stainless steel used for this phone is also used to create surgical instruments and is hypoallergenic and resistant to corrosion.

    TAG Heuer Mobile Security offers a high level of protection against network attacks, malware for mobile phones and SMS spam. Besides the fact that it grants users the possibility to locate where the phone was lost or stolen, using the GPS Find function, the software offers the opportunity to store all digital files in encrypted folders and to lock or delete remotely all the files from the phone.

    Thanks to Mobile Security software from Kaspersky Lab, the owner is able to effectively manage the private contacts, to filter out the unwanted calls and SMSs by entering contacts in “black” and “white” lists and to restrict children’s access to the phone.

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    Samsung Launches Galaxy Note

  • Samsung Launches Galaxy Note

    Samsung has finally announced the availability of Samsung Galaxy Note on the European market. The company's new smartphone will be available in November through the major European mobile operators, like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone.

    Galaxy Note has the first and the largest HD Super AMOLED screen, measuring 5.3 inches. According to the company, this is an intelligent expansive, high-resolution screen, offering immersive viewing experience, "the most performing in its class." The S Pen, along with the full touchscreen of the device, is creating a truly unique user experience. Users can enjoy multi-tasking, can create and view more, with fewer interruptions, even in motion.

    The digital S Pen can be used for precise drawings or fine art, while the superior handwriting recognition allows the user to capture and share any idea on other devices without the need for subsequent digitization; handwritten text is converted with accuracy in digital characters.

    Specially designed applications

    Along with Galaxy Note, Samsung announced the launch of "S Choice", a new menu category in the Samsung Apps, with applications designed specifically for the Galaxy Note's S Pen function. The new applications include Soonr Workplace, OmniSketch, Zen Brush, ComicBook! and iAnnotate PDF. Soonr Workplace enables team collaboration through the annotation option directly in the various file formats stored in Soonr Cloud, while iAnnotate PDF offers direct annotation for S Pen in PDF files. OmniSketch allows drawing using S Pen as a brush, while Zen Brush simulates an oriental brush.

    Unique visual experience

    The high-resolution screen of Samsung Galaxy Note allows users an improved visualization of e-books, PowerPoint presentations, news applications and web pages, with scrolling and minimal zooming. The HD Super AMOLED screen of the Galaxy Note is large enough to allow split-screen and multi-tasking operations. The most commonly used native applications can run side by side, thus reducing interruptions. In addition, 5.3-inch screen is the largest ever included in a mobile device; having a thickness of only 9.6 mm, the new Samsung Galaxy Note perfectly fits in your pocket.

    Power and performance

    Galaxy Note’s 1.4 GHz dual core processor ensures a higher speed. Fast network speeds are possible thanks to the HSPA+ or LTE-enabled connections featured by the new smartphone. This means that users can play videos by real-time streaming or play with friends through online gaming platforms (facilitated by Samsung Game Hub).

    SPECIFICATIONS

    Network:
    – HSPA+ up to 21Mbps 850/900/1900/2100
    – 4G LTE
    – EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
    Processor:                
    – 1.4 GHz Dual Core Processor
    Display:                      
    – 5.3” WXGA (1280 x 800, 285 PPI) screen
    – HD Super AMOLED
    Platform:                    
    – Android 2.3(Gingerbread)
    Camera:                      
    – Main (Rear): 8 MP with LED Flash / Front : 2 MP
    – Action Shot, Beauty, Panorama Shot, Smile Shot
    Video:                        
    – 1080p Full HD video recording & playback
    – Recording: 1080p@24~30fps/ Playback: 1080p@30fps
    – Codec: MPEG4/ H.263/ H.264/ DivX, Xvid, WMV, VC-1
    Audio:                          
    – Codec: MP3, AAC, AMR, WMA, WAV, FLAC, OGG
    – Music Player with SoundAlive
    – 3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo FM Radio with RDS
    Multi Input:                 
    – Full touch + S Pen (Advanced smart pen)
    Connectivity:              
    – Bluetooth® technology v 3.0 + HS
    – USB 2.0 HOST
    – Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
    Sensor:                        
    – Accelerometer, Digital compass, Proximity, Barometer, Light
    Memory:                      
    – 16 GB internal memory + microSD (up to 32 GB)
    Battery:                        
    – Standard battery, Li-on 2,500 mAh
    Features:                    
    – Samsung Touchwiz/ Samsung Live Panel UX
    – S Memo/ S Planner/ S Choice (Apps for GALAXY Note)
    – Samsung Apps Samsung kies 2.0/ Samsung kies air
    – Social Hub, Readers Hub, Music Hub
                                          

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  • Samsung and Google Launch Galaxy Nexus

    Samsung and Google, have launched the Galaxy Nexus, the world's first smartphone equipped with Android Ice Cream Sandwich and HD screen Super AMOLED.

    Galaxy Nexus has a 1.2 GHz processor, compared to only 800 MHz in the iPhone 4S, 4.65-inch HD screen Super AMOLED with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, while the iPhone 4S has a screen of only 3.5 inches, with a resolution of 960 x 640 pixels and a density of 326 ppi.

    Galaxy Nexus is over iPhone 4S when it comes to memory too, having 1GB RAM, double than the iPhone 4S. In addition, Galaxy Nexus comes with the NFC technology, which allows the user to use its phone as a digital wallet.

    With a thickness of 8.94mm and with a frame of 4.29mm, Galaxy Nexus offers a greater portability.

    The first smartphone equipped with Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich. "Ice Cream Sandwich proves that the Android platform went further with the innovations by launching a version that works on phones and tablets. Features like Android Beam and Face Unlock show our team's innovative work and Galaxy Nexus demonstrates the power behind the Ice Cream Sandwich," said Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President at Mobile for Google.

    Ice Cream Sandwich brings a completely and entirely new appearance to the Android platform. It has a redesigned interface with improved multitasking, notifications, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC support and an improved web experience.

    Galaxy Nexus presents software navigation buttons for the first time on smartphones with Android. Locking the screen, the home screen, phone applications and all other elements have been rethought and redesigned to make the Android platform simple, attractive and useful.

    Also, Ice Cream Sandwich comes with a new application, called People, which allows interacting with friends, family and colleagues, viewing their photos at high resolution, and following the latest updates on the statuses on Google+ and other social networks.

    Galaxy Nexus offers the possibility of synchronizing the e-mail, contacts and other data on all devices owned. Users have access to more than 300,000 applications and games on Android Market or, in some countries, they can buy and read e-books, rent movies or play movies. In the USA, users can also download music into Cloud using Music Beta from Google.

    Ice Cream Sandwich introduces innovations such as Face Unlock, which uses the face recognition function to unlock the phone. Using NFC technology, Android Beam allows users to share quickly with friends and family web pages and video applications on YouTube by simply joining the phones together.

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  • Microsoft and Samsung Have a Deal on Windows Phone and Sharing Patents

    Microsoft and Samsung have signed an agreement targeting three important goals: developing Windows Phone solutions, distribution of Android devices and exchange of patents. The formalization of this agreement, of a great importance for its content and its strategic value, will undoubtedly lead to significant changes in mobile devices.

    The Pro-Windows Phone Agreement
    The two parties have decided to get involved in developing new environmental solutions for Windows Phone, just a few days after the announcement of the first Samsung devices equipped with Windows Phone Mango, which widely opens new horizons for both groups. Microsoft needs manufacturers that ensure the quality, while Samsung is looking for an alternative in avoiding an imbalance generated by favoring the Android operating system.

    The Anti-Android Agreement
    Another very interesting move made by the two companies is what concerns the Android devices: Microsoft will receive from Samsung a share of the profits obtained from the sale of each Android smartphone distributed.

    It's quite difficult to assess the amount in order to determine whether this sum is close to the $ 5 for each device – amount agreed into the contract signed by Microsoft with HTC.

    Another interesting fact is that Samsung has also signed, in this context, on the mention: “Android violates the Microsoft’s intellectual property so that Samsung accepts the payment of a small “fine” in order to continue distribution without problems”.

    An excellent move on the chessboard of the biggest players on the market, given that the group in Redmond will receive the more so as its Android rival will be successful, which will definitely lead to a confrontation with the colossus in Mountain View.

    The Agreement on Patents
    Even the thorny issue targeting the patents has found the solution in the agreement signed by both parties: Microsoft and Samsung have granted a mutual license for the exchange of strategic patents, so that both groups will be able to develop their projects without the risk of further legal battles.

    The content of the agreement puts Google against the wall in the most serious way, but brings to the forefront the possibility of adopting a compromising solution on the issue of patents battle.

    Advancing the idea of licensing as a viable solution, through which the intellectual property is being recognized, it is clearly approaching this issue, in the spirit of supporting the innovation and the development in the technology sector.

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  • Google Supplies HTC with Ammunition for the Battle Against Apple

    The legal war Apple bears with the biggest manufacturers of touchscreen mobile devices could take a new turn, after Google, the giant behind the most popular operating system for smartphones and tablets – Android – decided to help its customers by providing certain invention patents with which the companies can challenge Apple in court, writes Bloomberg.

    Google has transferred a package of nine patents in the property of the Taiwanese manufacturer, HTC, on which the Asian company has initiated a legal action against Apple. Google declined to comment on the reasons why they had made that transfer.

    Analysts consider that the move represents a new step in the fight which now bears in courts among the big companies. Google, which has been criticized before that it stood aside, while its partners that were using Android were being hit in court by Apple, decided to take a more active role in the fight on the so-called touchscreen market, considered as one of the most competitive.

    Recently, the company that owns the most popular internet search engine has announced that it intends to expand its patents portfolio in order to protect themselves against the legal actions concerning the theft of technology. Google faces in this race a strong competition from the same Apple.

    Google's decision to transfer the patents to HTC comes shortly after Apple acquired, from a German court, a blocking in sales of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, on the basis of infringement of some invention patents on the hardware side. Apple has also filed lawsuits to its rivals HTC and Motorola.

    Android, the operating system developed by Google for both tablets and smartphones, has supremacy in this segment with a market share of about 50%.

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  • Apple Strikes Again: Galaxy Tab 7.7 Out From IFA

    The war Apple takes against Samsung is reaching a new milestone: the tablet Galaxy Tab 7.7, presented last week at IFA 2011, has been removed from Samsung’s stand after a court order, the reason being violation of patents owned by Apple.

    The Court in Dusseldorf, the same that has also decided to ban Galaxy Tab 10.1, was the decision-maker in this case.

    Apple has legally obtained an order according to which Samsung is prohibited from marketing and promoting this product.

    James Chung, a spokesman for Samsung Seoul declined to comment on the court decision, but said that Samsung will respect the legal order, despite the fact that it is severely limiting the consumer. Furthermore, the company will defend itself in court.

    Samsung and Apple have been in disputes over time, because Apple claims that the Galaxy products from Samsung are copying their iPad and iPhone. Just a month ago, the court from Dusseldorf has temporarily banned Samsung to promote their Galaxy Tab 10.1 in 26 out of the 27 EU member states. The first trial in this series took place in April, in the United States.

    The legal order received late last week comes with losses of over half the units, according to Strategy Analytics. In the first quarter, Samsung had a market share of 16%, well below the iPhone's 69%.

    Galaxy Tab 7.7 has been released last week in Berlin. The first tablet in the world with Super AMOLED screen resolution of 1280X800 has a thickness of 7.89 mm, weighs 335 grams and comes equipped with a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and 1GB RAM. The tablet is running Android 3.2 Honeycomb and has WiFi, HSPA + 21 Mbps and 2 cameras of 2 and 3 megapixels, respectively.

    Samsung had no details about the price of the tablet and when it will arrive in stores.

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  • Apple Falls While Samsung and Android Take the Lead in USA

    Google and Samsung have managed to surpass Apple and its products, iOS, iPhone and iPad, ok the U.S. market, as the latest statistics are showing.

    Out of the 82 million Americans who own a smartphone, most devices (41.8%) are running the Android operating system developed by Google. Apple, with its IOS, ranked second with a market share of 27%, while the third place was occupied by Research in Motion (21.7%), with the operating system designed for their Blackberry.

    Interestingly, while Google gained 5.4% since April 2011, Apple's share grew by only 1%, and RIM has lost 4%. The last two places in the ranking are occupied by Microsoft and Symbian, which have 5.7% and 1.9%, respectively, of the market share.

    Samsung, market leader

    In the smartphones brands rankings, on the first place is Samsung, with a slightly increased market share compared to April 2011, from 24.5% to 25.5%. In second place is LG, which has stagnated at 20.9%, while the third place is occupied by Motorola with a decrease in the market share of 1.5%, from 15.6% to 14.1%. Apple was ranked only the fourth, with a market share increased by 1.2%, from 8.3% to 9.5%. The top is completed by RIM with a share down by 0.6%, from 8.2 to 7.6%.

    SMS, vital for Americans

    Another interesting ranking shows that the Americans are using the phone, beyond the calls, mainly to send text messages, in 70% of the cases. The percentage of those who surf the internet on their smartphone has increased from 39.1% to 41.1% and just the same as the percentage of those who download applications, up from 37.8% to 40.6%.
    The study shows, on the other hand, that 30.1% of the Americans who own a mobile phone are accessing social networks and blogs, 27.8% are playing games on the phone, while 20.3% are listening to music.

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