Google Drive detailed: 5 GB for free, launching next week for Mac, Windows, Android and iOS

Sometimes we get lucky, and today is one of those days. I got a draft release from a partner of Google’s upcoming Google Drive service and it gives away a wealth of information about how Google plans to take on the incumbent Dropbox. The short story? 5 GB of storage, and it launches next week, likely on Tuesday at http://drive.google.com

Now let’s talk details. It’s no surprise that it will roll out for free. What’s interesting though is that Google is planning to start everyone with 5 GB of storage. Of course you can buy more, but that trumps Dropbox’s 2 GB that is included with every account. Dropbox does make it easy to get more space, including 23 GB of potential upgrades for HTC users.

What’s also interesting is the wording related to how the system will work. It’s been long-thought that Windows integration will come easy, but that getting the Google Drive icon into the Mac a la Dropbox would be a bit harder. From what we’re reading, Google Drive will work “in desktop folders” on both Mac and Windows machines, which still leaves the operation question unanswered.

But there is one very solid piece of news – Google Drive is expected to launch in the middle of next week. Given how big companies such as Apple, Google and the rest operate, I’m placing my bets on Tuesday, but Wednesday is also a popular day for Google updates. In fact, TechCrunch seems to have gotten their hands onto the app itself.

Now as for the reliability of the information? It’s not at all uncommon for big companies to launch with partners for new features. When that happens, the partners will often-times have a heads up to integration and specifics, and that’s exactly what appears to have happened here as it did with the Lucidchart leak from last week. We’ll have to wait and see exactly how it all works out, but let’s just say that our earlier prediction of in-app document editing is pretty solid as well, given the nature of the release that was sent to us today.

But the question remains – Can Google Drive hold a candle to Dropbox?

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HTC One S vs Apple iPhone 4S

Here we go, folks, the battle of the “S”-es – the new HTC One S in the blue or black corner, and the iPhone 4S in the black or white corner. This may leave us with two black corners, though, and it's exactly the dark metal ceramic version of the One S we have now, so the fight will be based entirely on merits, rather than color preference.

We kid, since one thing is missing from HTC's phone to go head-to-head with the iPhone 4S in terms of specs, and it is pixel density, while it exceeds in other geeky stuff like processor clock and operating memory. The iPhone's iOS and Android have different resource needs, though, so we'll judge mainly on design, interface performance and camera quality, leaving the application stores aside.

With the new trend of higher-end Android devices coming with sealed batteries and non-expandable memory, just like the iPhone has been from day one, another Android differentiation is lost compared to it, so who will take over the ARM wrestling match? Read on our comparison to find out...


Design:

Apple's iPhone 4S has a unique steel-and-glass casing, which is yet unmatched by other manufacturers, even though this chassis is the same as the previous iPhone edition from 2010. It leaves a very premium feeling in the hand, with the downsides being that it makes the phone comparatively heavy, with sharp edges, and more prone to shatters and scratches than run-of-the-mill materials.

The HTC One S, on the other hand, sports two very distinct chassis materials – a blue-grey version with the more ordinary anodized aluminum, and the black version we have. Blacky is coated in a metal ceramic fusion obtained by zapping the aluminum frame with 10,000 volts, which results in oxidized metal that is three times stronger than stainless steel. This is making the phone very rigid and durable, but have no doubts that if you key it with a vengeance, marks will be left, this is no adamantium.

In terms of comfort, both phones lie well in the hand, with the iPhone leaving a more “edgy” feeling than the rounded corners and tapered back on the One S. HTC's handset is one of the most compact 4.3” phones we've handled, and is thinner than the iPhone 4S, but for smaller palms one-handed operation with the iPhone will come much easier since its screen size is 3.5”, and the whole phone is shorter and a tad narrower than the One S, so your thumb can reach everywhere.

Displays:

The displays on both phones are pretty different in both size and tech. We have the 3.5” Retina Display on the iPhone 4S, with its IPS-LCD technology and 640x960 resolution, meaning 326ppi pixel density, good colors, wide viewing angles, and high brightness.


The 4.3” AMOLED display on the HTC One S sports 540x960 pixels of resolution, which not only results in lower pixel density than the 4S, but since it is done with the PenTile matrix arrangement, the honeycomb structure of the dots makes some elements appear pixelated. Nothing you'd notice unless deliberately looking for it, though.

What they will notice are the oversatured colors on the display, which go way above the standard gamut, and the cold images, making white appear blueish compared to the iPhone 4S. AMOLED has other advantages, like wider viewing angles and deep blacks, hence extremely high contrast ratio. This comes in handy when watching movies, and the AMOLED screens draw much less energy then, compared to displaying white backgrounds during browsing, while for LCD ones this doesn't matter.

Source : phonearena

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Facebook PS Vita app updated with photo uploads, more languages

The young (and fairly barebones) Facebook app for the PS Vita has just received its first update, bringing it to — you guessed it — version 1.01. GBAtemp user masterchan777 posted screenshots showing the app's changelog, and it looks like there are a couple of key additions. First up, you can now upload and tag pictures from the Vita to the News Feed or a friend's Wall; previously you could only add photos to already-created galleries. The app also has support for Facebook Pages as well as "all system languages" now. While they still lag behind the features offered on the iPhone and Android apps, the added photo upload options should help make what we found was one of the worst parts of the app a bit more tolerable.

Source : theverge

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Alternatives to the iPhone

Q:
I’ve been using the iPhone since it came out in 2007. And while I’m satisfied with the way it works, I’m considering changing phones just to have something different—in particular a larger screen. What, in your opinion, are the best alternatives to the iPhone? I use mine primarily for email, along with checking stocks and weather.
A:
I would go with an Android phone, which has plenty of apps that are similar to what you are used to, and which typically these days come with larger screens, some exceeding 4.5 inches. There are always new models coming out, and there are so many that it can be hard to recommend one. But, in my tests, I’ve been especially impressed with the Samsung Galaxy models.
Q:
I’m a Verizon user currently on 3G and we’ve been promised 4G in our area by end of 2013. Do you have any indication Verizon is actually going to continue with LTE service or is this just a smoke screen? Are they really going to roll out new 4G (LTE) service or is this just chosen markets?
A:
I don’t know where you live, or when or whether Verizon Wireless plans to offer LTE, the fastest cellular data network, in your particular area. But I can say that, for Verizon, LTE is anything but a “smoke screen,” and I’d be stunned if the carrier didn’t continue rolling it out. Verizon has deployed it in over 200 markets and says it plans to cover 400 markets by the end of 2012. It’s a key part of the company’s competitive strategy.
Every carrier that deploys a new network starts with a few “chosen markets,” and there are always some areas left out, even years later, for various reasons. But from everything I know, Verizon is planning a broad national LTE network.
Q:
I run Windows 7 on a Mac using Parallels Desktop. Can I use the normal Windows update process to keep Windows 7 up to date or will it compromise the Windows setup through Parallels?
A:
Your virtual copy of Windows inside the Parallels software is designed to work just like Windows on a physical PC. That includes the Windows update process, which I have used many times on Windows via Parallels. This is separate from any updates made by Apple to the Mac operating system, or updates to the Parallels program itself.

Source : allthingsd

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Android On Your PC: Qualcomm Invests In BlueStacks After Beta Sees 1M Downloads In 10 Days

If you’re an Android and a PC, you should check out BlueStacks — before hackers catch on or Chrome sneaks in this functionality, take advantage. The startup’s software has been going like hotcakes over the last few months, as it’s offering a much-needed service for Android and PC users, having developed software that allows Android users to run their apps on all Windows PCs, tablets, and laptops — without any modifications.

Thanks to this appealing concept, BlueStacks lured $7.6 million in venture funding pre-launch, before adding another $6.4 million a few months later — all from investors like AMD, Citrix Systems, Andreessen Horowitz, Ignition Ventures, and more.

The startup finally released its public beta on March 27th, and so far users have been eating it up. In the first 10 days after its release, BlueStacks’ App Player racked up more than 1 million downloads, with over 12 million apps collectively being run by its users. It’s on the heels of this early traction that the company is today announcing it has found yet another investor — this time from global telecom giant, Qualcomm.

Acting through its venture arm, Qualcomm Ventures, the chipmaker invested an undisclosed amount in BlueStacks, but from what we’ve been hearing from those familiar with the matter, the round was in the seven-figure range.

The startup now has over $15 million in outside investment, which is notable both in size (relative to the age of its product) and for the fact that BlueStacks has been able to bring together (at least symbolically) two of the biggest semiconductor/chipmakers on the market — Qualcomm and AMD. Not two names one typically finds side-by-side on a startup’s roster of investors.

“Consumers are increasingly looking for computing experiences that enable them to access their apps across different platforms,” said VP of Qualcomm Ventures Nagraj Kashyap. “We believe BlueStacks is well-positioned to capitalize on the marriage of mobile and PC.”

Again, for a recap for those unfamiliar, BlueStacks’ App Player is a free software download that gives Android users the ability to get one-click access to their apps on any Windows PC, including full-screen viewing. In turn, the startup’s Cloud Connect lets users push apps from their phone onto their PC easily and remotely, turning PCs into extensions of any Android-based mobile device, using their own personal cloud-based app channel.

Obviously, the big goal for BlueStacks is to bring the some 450,000 Android apps to those billion-odd PC users out there. If done right, it’s a fairly sizable market, to say the least. The other key to the startup’s beta release was the new ability to run graphics-intensive Android apps on desktop PCs, using its patent-pending technology called “Layercake.” Essentially, as we wrote at the time, Layercake allows Android apps to run on x86-based PCs, including apps written for the ARM processor, like Angry Birds Space or Fruit Ninja, for example.

The beta release leverages the PC’s graphics card to enable apps running graphics-intensive engines like Unity to process without hiccups, and also offers accelerometer tilting and pinch-to-zoom smartphone UI features to the desktop via mouse and keyboard prompts. Users can also now download apps from within BlueStacks even if they don’t have an Android phone, and can send and receive SMS messages on their PCs.

The company partnered with the developers behind apps like Fruit Ninja, SliceIt!, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Townsmen, Evernote, Defender and StumbleUpon for its beta release. Shainiel Deo, the CEO of Halfbrick (the makers of Fruit Ninja), said that the appeal of BlueStacks’ software is that developers don’t have to port or modify apps to run them on PCs, meaning there’s no heavy lifting for those who’ve already developed apps for Android.

Of course, Android fragmentation could be a problem, as some users of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in particular have complained of trouble in syncing app data between devices and PCs — beyond simply syncing APKs — something which will be crucial for its long-term viability. It will also be interesting to see how BlueStacks deals with security, as some users pointed out that the software could become a victim of having to make repeated security upgrades as hackers catch onto loopholes.

But, in the meantime, BlueStacks could offer Android users a great way to avoid using data-time on their smartphones, reducing bills across the board. It also offers Android developers of all stripes access to the billion-user PC market, something which has previously only been offered for a select few, like Rovio and Cut the Rope.

In that sense, BlueStacks wants to become a developer platform, by which developers can build for Android and get a PC app version for free. It’s without a doubt a smart play, and with big money from Andreessen, AMD, Qualcomm and more there’s reason to believe its product will continue to improve, though it will certainly be interesting to see how sustainable the company’s concept can be in the long term. If Windows 8 tablets take off, long-term viability could be within reach.

Source : techcrunch

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Are some iPhone users looking for an Instagram alternative, following the Android launch?

The release of Instagram for Android has, understandably, been met with a great deal of fanfare, with 1 million downloads in under 24 hours. The release has also been accompanied by a surprisingly vile backlash from a group of iPhone users who are annoyed, to say the least, with the appearance of Android users in their previously exclusive space.

The comments on Twitter were filled with complaints about the app losing exclusivity, among other things:

Cnet took an in-depth look at the reaction which it labels as classist, adding:

“…which smartphone we own has begun to inform our identities. In our gadget-filled lives, our phones have become another way for us to organize ourselves into separate groups, to label each other as “other” and “apart.” Our tech has come to define us.”

So what has this meant for Instagram’s competitors who remain available only on iOS? One iPhone only app we’ve covered in the past, PicYou, says that it has seen an influx of new users in the past few days.

In the four days following the launch of Instagram for Android, PicYou received over 125,000 downloads, a huge boost from its average 1,000 to 4,000 daily downloads.

Are some iPhone users actually abandoning Instagram in favour of other iPhone-only apps out of a sense of betrayal?

Members of The Next Web noticed a sudden increase in followers on PicYou, starting on April 4, exactly one day after the Instagram for Android launch, despite not having used the app recently.

While there’s no hard and fast proof that the two are connected, it also makes for quite the coincidence. After all, while we saw a renewed set of flamewars sizzling their way to the forefront, we never would have imagined such an angry outburst from some iPhone users.

Keeping that in mind, ditching Instagram, if even just for a while, until they get over themselves, seems pretty par for the course, at least for those who felt the burning desire to speak out against the introduction of the Android app.

Source : thenextweb

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Sony introduce android 4

Sony has now officially announced that it plans to introduce the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS version upgrade for some of its select smartphones, starting as early as next month. The devices receiving this upgrade would include the Xperia arc S,Xperia neo V and Xperia ray in mid-April. This upgrade rollout, Sony mentioned, would take place gradually and would take about 3 to 4 weeks to complete the process.
Sony further mentioned that this upgrade would not be available over-the-air as is been the case most of the time with other upgrades. In order to install the said upgrade, hence, users would have to use their PC or Mac and then connect their device to transfer the entire process. It is expected that the Xperia PLAY, Xperia mini, Xperia mini pro, Xperia pro and some other smartphone would receive their upgrades by the end of May or in early June this year.


I personally am very excited about this latest announcement from Sony. The Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is filled with many features and functionalities, is now long overdue. I suppose there will be a large number of Sony Xperia users who will be awaiting this release with bated breath as well.
The exact date of availability of this software upgrade will depend upon the specific Xperia model and also on the market location and carrier specifications in that particular location.

Source : newgadget

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Instagram now available on Android

It should have been an application only an iOS user can be proud of but that isn’t the case anymore. Instagram, one of iOS most famous camera application has decided to expand its platform support to another famous one which is the Google Android. This comes to no surprise because the Android community had been trying to get their hands on the application and now with Instagram fulfilling their wish, iOS users has one less thing to be proud of.

Instagram for Android was released in April 3, 2012 and as of the time of publication, it managed to reach 1 million to 5 million downloads in Google Play. In fact, in just a day, there are already 62,000 reviews made by users with an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Some of the users have complained of a few bugs but that didn’t stop the application from being one of the fastest growing in the Android world.
The best thing about Instagram is that it is free and its filters make the photos taken look incredibly good. With Android having millions of users worldwide, you can expect that the number of downloads to be increased significantly with the days to come.

Source : newgadget

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Zynga’s Draw Something Slingshots Past Angry Birds in App Store

MGPOP’s Draw Something is once again the top-selling iPhone application, after being knocked off just two weeks ago by the launch of Angry Birds Space.
The top ranking will go a long way in quieting the critics who believed Zynga was foolish to acquire OMGPOP for $180 million on the day of Rovio’s big launch, only to see it fall to second place the next day.
In addition to climbing its way back to the top, Zynga also disclosed that the game has now been downloaded more than 50 million times in 50 days, making it the fastest-growing mobile game ever — or so it believes.
In other words, that would be like everyone in England downloading the app in less than two months.
While it still may end up being true that Zynga overpaid for OMGPOP, there is little doubt that the game is an overnight success.
If you are one of the few people who haven’t already played it, Draw Something challenges players to use their finger to draw a picture of a person, place or thing; for example, “hoodie,” “golf cart” or “Rihanna.” The completed picture is handed off to another player, who must guess what is being drawn, sort of like Pictionary.
Inside the game, players can pay for additional features, such as new colors that can help make the illustrations easier to guess, new words if they don’t like the choices that are presented to them, or bombs that will eliminate some of the letters to make guessing an illustration easier. The free version has ads; users can pay 99 cents to get rid of them.
Zynga also said that since the game launched, more than six billion drawings have been created (that’s 120 for every resident of England), and that at the game’s peak hours, it generates 3,000 drawings per second. The most popular words are “starfish,” “pregnant,” “six-pack,” “Hangman” and “boom box.” The least popular word is “latrine.”
The mobile game also registers as the most popular game on Facebook, because it allows people to login to the game on the phone using their credentials.
However, people do not have to register using Facebook, so the number of players using it is actually bigger than what’s being reported by AppData, which tracks application usage on Facebook.
Still, AppData reports that the game has 14.4 million daily active users, where it has plateaued for the past week. The next most popular game, also owned by Zynga, is Words With Friends, which draws about eight million daily users, slightly more than half of Draw Something’s crowd.

Source : allthingsd

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Oracle and Google will go to trial over Android dispute

Oracle and Google are now set to go before the US District Court of San Francisco on 16 April. Oracle had turned down a settlement offer from Google last week which has led Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal to decide that the case will go ahead.

Grewal noted that, in some lawsuits, a trial can not be avoided and that this case was a good example of such circumstances. He added: "Despite their diligent efforts and those of their able counsel, the parties have reached an irreconcilable impasse in their settlement discussions with the undersigned."

Oracle is suing Google for allegedly infringing some of its Java-related patents in the Dalvik virtual machine that is an integral part of Android and its copyright on the Java API. Oracle's patent claims have been reduced significantly in previous hearings and the case is now mostly about Oracle's copyright claims and the question whether the company can claim copyright on an API specification. The damage claims were similarly reduced over the course of the pre-trial proceedings.

Source : h-online

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How to install CyanogenMod 9 Android on your TouchPad

We know a lot of you aren't interested in Android, let alone considering installing it on your precious TouchPad. That's fine, this guide isn't for you. There are plenty of TouchPad owners who are and they have plenty of legitimate reasons to do so. Be it to get apps like Netflix on their tablet, to see what all the fuss is about widgets, or merely for the novelty factor of installing a second operating system on a TouchPad, there are reasons to do it.

This guide will go over how to install the CyanogenMod 9 Android build on the HP TouchPad. CyanogenMod is a third-party open source distribution of the Android Open Source Project, with CyanogenMod 9 (CM9) based off of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). It offers all of the core features of Android, though it does not come with the Google services integration that has come to be associated with the majority of commercial smartphone and tablet distributions of Android.

The CM9 install is done alongside webOS. Once all is said and done you'll have the option when booting to launch into webOS or Android. It might seem daunting, but in reality it's not that complicated. Still interested? Alright, here's what you need...
Please read this all the way through before attempting. We want you to have a good understanding of what you have to do before you get halfway through and panic. Okay? Okay.
Preparation

First and foremost, before doing any sort of hacking to your device, you should be mentally and physically prepared for any and everything to go wrong. Yes, this install process is relatively safe so long as you follow the instructions, but things can and have gone wrong. So make sure your TouchPad is successfully backing up to HP's servers and make a backup on your computer of all your files, photos, and everything else that you can't redownload. Do it now, before you do anything else. Seriously.

Backed up? Good. Now it's time to get your computer set up. Just as with our Homebrew App Installation Guide, you'll need to make sure Java is set up on your computer (chances are it already is).

Mac: Open Applications, Utilities, and then Java Preferences. Under the General tab, make sure Java SE 6 is checked on and at the top of the list. If it is not, you can drag-and-drop it to the top. It is okay to have multiple instances of Java checked, so long as Java SE 6 is one of them. If Java SE 6 is not present, open Software Update from the Apple menu (top left corner) and let it install all pending updates.

PC: Open the Control Panel and open Java, this will open the Java Control Panel. In the first box under the General tab click on the About button. If it says Java 6 Standard Edition, click Close to exit the pop-up and Cancel to close the Java Control Panel. If it does not, or if Java is not present in your Control Panel, go to Java.com and download and run the 'Windows Online' Java installer.

Everybody: To enable the needed communications channels with your TouchPad, you'll need to install the Novacom drivers on your computer. If you've installed the webOS SDK or WebOS Quick Install, you've already installed Novacom. If you haven't or you're not sure, simply download the Novacom installer, open it, click the big "Install Novacom" button, and let the installer download and install the drivers.

Loading Files

Now that you have everything needed for the project downloaded or installed we can get started! The first thing you will need to do is take the ACME Installer file and unzip it (if zipped) and copy it to where Novacom is installed. Windows users can expect to find Novacom under C:\Program Files\Palm, Inc or C:\Program Files\HP webOS. Mac users can get to where they need to go by opening Finer's Go menu, selecting Go To Folder… and entering /opt/nova/bin. Once you're in the appropriate folder you should see files/folders named nocavom and novacomd (and possibly others). Copy the unzipped ACMEInstaller2 file into this folder.

Turn on your TouchPad and connect it to your computer with a USB cable. Once you connect it to your computer, the TouchPad will alert you asking if you want to charge or enter Mass Storage Mode. Select Mass Storage Mode to mount your TouchPad as a USB drive, allowing access to files on the device from your computer. It should appear as a device name HP TouchPad.

Open the TouchPad device in your computer's file browser, create a folder (PC: Right click > New > Folder; Mac: Right Click or control+click > New Folder), and name it "cminstall". Copy the ClockworkMod Recovery, MOBoot, CM9, and whatever other zip files (*cough*Google Apps*cough*) you're installing into that folder. Eject the TouchPad from your computer and unplug it.
Installation

With us so far? Good. Take a deep breath, because we're going to get technical here. Things will look scary, but so long as you do exactly as we say, you'll do just fine.

Boot your TouchPad into recovery mode by shutting it down (hold down the power button and select Shut Down) and restarting while holding down the power and volume up buttons until the USB symbol appears on the TouchPad's screen. Plug the USB cable back into the TouchPad and your computer. If your computer needs to install the proper drivers, it'll say so (it shouldn't take much longer than a minute or two to install the drivers).

Now it's time to jump into Command Prompt or Terminal on your computer to get the ball rolling.

Mac: Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal). Once the Terminal window is open, type (without quotes) "cd /opt/nova/bin" and hit enter.

A new line will appear with "bin" inserted between your computer name and username. Type (sans quotes) "./novacom boot mem:// < ACMEInstaller2" and hit enter.

PC: Open Command Prompt by going to the Start Menu and typing "cmd" into the search box. Once the Command Prompt window is open, type (without quotes) "cd c:\Program Files\Palm, Inc" (substitute Palm, Inc for HP webOS if necessary) and hit enter.

A new line will appear with c:\Program Files\Palm, Inc and a blinking cursor. Type (sans quotes) "novacom.exe boot mem:// < ACMEInstaller2" and hit enter.

Everybody: If all has gone according to plan, your TouchPad will quickly restart and a bunch of lines of code you likely don't understand will start streaming across your TouchPad's screen. This is the installation happening, just let it go. This will go on for several minutes, so now would be the time to go have yourself a stiff drink, because the hard part is over.

Booting

Once the installation is complete, your TouchPad will restart again, but this time it will now stop first at a new station called moboot. This screen lets you select which OS you want to boot into. Your options will include boot webOS, boot CyanogenMod, boot ClockwordMod, boot webOS recovery, reboot, and shutdown. Use the volume rocker (up is up and down is down) to cycle through the options and press the home button to boot into your selected OS. Typically all you'll need to pick from is boot webOS or boot CyanogenMod.


If at any time you want to switch between Android and webOS you'll have to shut down and reboot the device. Rebooting Android is accomplished by holding down the power button, selecting Reboot, and tapping OK. webOS can be rebooted by holding down the power button, selecting Shut Down, and then turning the device back on (hold down the power button) after it has turned off. The boot process will stop at moboot each time your reboot the tablet, though the initial selection defaults to CyanogenMod with a five second timeout period, so you'll want to pay attention if you're intending to boot into webOS.
Success!

Congratulations! You now have two wonderful operating systems on one awesome tablet. We have more coming down the pipeline on how to deal with having Android on your TouchPad and what to do with it, so keep your browser tuned right here to webOS Nation!


Source : webosnation

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UK networks prepare to launch HTC One series

The HTC One X and One S are about to launch in the UK (check out our review and preview, by the way), and as such, all the major carriers are getting in on the action. Here's a breakdown of how each of the major British networks are handling the launch of the most anticipated Android phone of the year so far.

Before we begin, remember that the HTC One X and One S should be available everywhere from April 5. so if you step into a brick-and-mortar store belonging to any of the big five tomorrow, you'll be able to pick up either a One X or One S.

    Three: Taking first One X and One S orders online today for delivery tomorrow, the official launch day. The One X is free on-contract from £35 per month, while the One S will set you back at least £32 per month -- both plans include unlimited data. If you'd prefer a lower monthly bill, you can pick up the One X from £27 per month, or the One S from £24 per month, both with a £99 upfront payment. All of Three's contracts are 24-month deals.
    
    O2: O2.co.uk now lists the HTC One X (in grey) as available "online only", with delivery promised tomorrow. O2 offers a number of 18 and 24-month deals, though all but the most expensive include some form of up-front fee. O2's "On & On" deals represent the best value on its network. These give you a One X for free, unlimited calls and texts and 1GB of data for £36 per month, with the option of bumping the data allowance up to 2GB for £41 per month. O2 also offers the One X on Pay-As-You-Go, for £479.99.
    
    ​Vodafone:​ Vodafone's still taking pre-orders for the One X (white and grey) and One S (silver). The X will is available for free on 24-month plans from £41 per month, while the S is priced slightly lower at £36 per month. The first 10,000 customers to order each handset will walk away with a pair of urBeats headphones -- the same kind that shipped with the Sensation XL last year -- and 10 free tracks per month from Vodafone Music.
    
    T-Mobile: Matches Voda's prices of £41 per month for the One X and £36 per month for the One S. T-Mo UK, though, offers unlimited data as part of the "full monty" plan. The network says it'll launch both devices online and in stores tomorrow.
    
    ​Orange: Says both devices are "coming soon."

If you're planning on picking up a HTC One X or One S on launch day, hit the comments let us know whether you're going down the carrier-subsidized route, or if you're stumping up the cash to buy one outright.

Source : androidcentral

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Small Android developers not worried about raging patent wars

Although Apple may have kicked off the post-PC era with the iPhone and iPad, it's Android that's allowed the tech industry to reinvent itself — the mobile computing explosion would look very different without Google's open-source operating system. With that success has come a corresponding explosion of patent litigation and licensing: the three biggest Android phone vendors are now all enmeshed in patent lawsuits with Apple, and Microsoft has signed patent licensing deals with 10 Android vendors, allowing Redmond to collect revenue on some 70 percent of all Android phones sold in the US.

In many ways that's simply the cost of doing business in a market where core software innovations were developed by entrenched players long ago — does anyone really care if LG is paying Microsoft some small per-unit fee on its Android phones? LG can afford it.

DOES ANYONE REALLY CARE IF LG IS PAYING MICROSOFT SOME SMALL PER-UNIT FEE ON ITS ANDROID PHONES?

But Google's operating system is also at the center of another revolution: a huge variety of smart devices all running Android for everything from control to power management to custom apps. It's real innovation, the kind that comes from new ideas and fresh thinking — and the kind most at risk from expensive patent lawsuits and unit royalties that most small companies can't afford.

Yet Android continues to flourish in the corners and sidestreets of the tech world despite the enormous amount of legal activity at the top of the market. That's surprising, but developers say the benefits of using such a popular and well-established platform vastly outweigh the risk that Microsoft or Apple might come calling. Building the WIMM One smartwatch would have been "prohibitively hard" without Android, says Ted Ladd, WIMM's director of developer relations. "We would have had to define all the APIs ourselves. With Android it's all done." Asked about the Android patent wars, Ladd simply shrugged. "'I'm not sure there's a problem — I don't see it. These legal shenanigans are not getting in the way of innovation for small developers."

Smaller gadget manufacturers are also drawn to Android's momentum, and most pay no mind to the legal battles between massive companies like Apple and Samsung. "There's a balance between taking the risk of going with a trendy ecosystem and a developer community that is supporting and building an open platform, or going with the safe, paid OS," said Hamid Abdollahi, CTO of Recon Instruments, makers of the MOD Live ski goggles. "We chose to go with the open platform." The legal activity around Android doesn't faze Abdollahi either. "There's no obvious link between the giants and us."

What's more, Microsoft itself doesn't appear to be too interested in pursuing small developers. "Our focus today is on the smartphone and tablet," says Microsoft IP attorney David Kaefer. "If you're booting Android on a toaster, we're not going to be focused on you." That doesn't mean Microsoft can't expand its licensing efforts to new markets; Kaefer says the company is looking into licensing TV manufacturers as smart TVs begin to get popular.

"IF YOU'RE BOOTING ANDROID ON A TOASTER, WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON YOU."

Merely dismissing potential liability doesn't make it go away, however, and as the smart device market gets larger it will become an increasingly attractive target for lawsuits, especially if Microsoft, Apple, and others prove victorious in today's intensely-fought smartphone cases. Armed with a victory against, say, Samsung, it would be fairly easy for Apple to squeeze a smaller Android vendor out of the market for infringing a core technology patent — unless, of course, Google steps in to somehow protect the entire Android ecosystem with licensing deals and lawsuits of its own.

If that happens, protecting small Android innovators may well be the lasting legacy of Motorola. Sources close to Google say the company considers the Motorola purchase to be an aggressive move to support the Android community and provide cover to innovate free of patent litigation — protection not necessarily needed by major players like HTC and Samsung, but sorely required by smaller Android-related shops developing new markets. But a Motorola-brokered détente might be a few years off: Google's strategy for Motorola seems to be largely hands-off for now, and Motorola itself is coming under serious international scrutiny for its use of standards-related patents in litigation against Apple and Microsoft.

In the meantime, the small Android ecosystem continues to hum along with the full expectation the patent issue will solve itself. WIMM's Ladd, a Palm veteran who's faced off with Microsoft before, was particularly blunt. "I've seen this play before from Microsoft, and therefore it doesn't faze me... This is not a new game."

Source :  theverge

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Intel to push StudyBook tablet PC for emerging markets

Intel is set to push a tablet PC product codenamed StudyBook to target emerging markets and will adopt the same sales model as its Classmate PC, according to sources from PC players. The StudyBook tablet PC will feature a 10-inch panel with Intel's Medfield platform and adopt dual-operating systems and will target the emerging markets such as China and Brazil, the sources noted.

The sources pointed out that Intel's Classmate PC project has been operating for about five years and the company has already established a partnership with many emerging countries. The StudyBook tablet PC will be released in the second half of 2012 and in addition to the education procurement market, Intel also hopes to push the product into regular retail channels priced below US$299.

Second-tier notebook maker Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), which has close relationship with Intel and is also the OEM of Classmate PC, is expected to manufacture the StudyBook for Intel, while China-based Malata will also receive the tablet PC orders from Intel.

Intel and Lenovo have also launched a 10.1-inch Classmate PC, featuring Atom N2600 and Windows 7, in Argentina and the machine is priced at US$300-400 and has already received orders for 158,000 units in the country.

Source : digitimes

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Gigabyte Communications to launch MediaTek-based dual-SIM Android phones in 2Q12

Gigabyte Communications has been focusing on the production of dual-SIM Android smartphones recently, and plans to roll out dual-SIM models built on chipset solutions from MediaTek in the second quarter of 2012 in addition to current models that utilize handset solutions from Qualcomm, according to the company.

The company will market its dual-SIM smartphones under its own G-Smart brand in Taiwan, Russia and Eastern Europe, but will be more flexible in cooperation with channel operators and branded vendors in markets in Southeast Asia.

Gigabyte plans to roll out six dual-SIM smartphones, built on Qualcomm's and MediaTek's platforms in 2012, with display sizes ranging between 3.5-4.3 inches. Retail prices are likely to be set below US$300 for the entry- and mid-range segments.

Having launched its G-Smart G1355 smartphone in the Taiwan market in cooperation with channel operator Senao International in March, Gigabyte also plans to market the model with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) in April, the company noted.

Source : digitimes

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