AT&T is launching a new smartphone powerhouse on Nov. 2: The Optimus G pairs a quad-core chip with 2 GB of memory and a high-resolution IPS display sized a 4.7-inches. Of course, the new Optimus supports AT&T’s LTE network as well. Pre-orders start tomorrow. Read more »
Apple’s iPad Mini isn’t yet a real product: It hasn’t been announced yet. However, that may change soon with talk of an upcoming event. And now there is a retail inventory system reportedly showing tablet pricing in 4 different storage capacities with Wi-Fi and cellular. Read more »
Keeping the next Nexus phone under wraps is proving to be difficult: This week a Russian site shared details, photos and even an early review of the Nexus 4. Meanwhile, new markets will see Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini and everyone can download Opera Mobile. Read more »
My iPod touch arrived today and after a few hours of use, I’m impressed. Apple has taken nearly all of the iPhone 5 features and functions and put them in this super thin and light iPod. I may use Android phones, but this is my PMP. Read more »
The iPhone 5 is a few weeks old but according to one mobile advertiser, it’s already getting more mobile web traffic from the iPhone 5 versus Samsung’s Galaxy S III, which launched in June. There’s still an Android win here if you look deep enough. Read more »
App developers tired of testing their software on multiple Android apps have long used emulators to simulate an Android device. Now they can do that right in the browser: Manymo offers 42 various online emulators for different screen sizes, display resolutions and Android versions. Read more »
A federal court has found that scanning books for search — which Google was doing for a university project called the Hathi Trust — is clearly covered by the “fair use” principle in copyright law, which could help Google in its own lawsuit with the Authors Guild. Read more »
Those hoping Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini was simply a smaller version of the company’s flagship phone may be disappointed: This is for the budget market. But that’s not a bad thing for Samsung, which can leverage branding and design cues from its GSIII. Read more »
Google is rolling out Android 4.1.2 to Nexus 7 tablets around the world, but it could take time before your slate sees it. Here’s how to get it now along with a video of the updates to notifications that Google included in the software. Read more »
Google’s chairman is very confident that Apple would approve a Google Maps app for iOS. He didn’t explain why he’s so sure that Apple would “have to.” Historically, Apple has not automatically approved all Google apps for iOS. Read more »
OwnCloud released its community edition and updated the business version of its service which lets IT store employee files in its cloud of choice. Cloud storage for business is a white hot market at least in terms of vendor activity. Read more »
Analyst reports on PC sales are hitting the wire and they’re not good. Should this surprise? Not really when you consider how more capable and cheaper mobile devices are selling like hotcakes. The PC certainly isn’t dead, but it is dying a slow painful death. Read more »
Smartphones and tablets are getting more complex while folks new to this market are jumping in. How do you stay informed of news, tips and tricks for your device? Try Drippler. It’s like a Flipboard edition for your mobile device and 2.5 million have downloaded it. Read more »
Bad hair days on video chats are a thing of the past with NTT Docomo’s hands-free video phone. Of course, a hat is a lighter solution because this heavy headgear has multiple cameras to render you as a finely detailed, and possibly better looking, avatar. Read more »
The PaaS market is predicted to reach $20.1 billion in 2014. Huge brands occupy this space, including Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Salesforce.com, as well as newer startups. As the market grows, watch for more consolidation, tighter integration with IaaS services, and more features. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
On Tuesday, Google announced Android 4.1.2 for the Android Open Source Project, which brings home screen rotation to Android devices. Third-party apps have supported this feature in the past, but Google needed to add it and avoid new users from having a bad experience. Read more »
Opera Mobile for Android gets speedy — or should I say SPDY — with version 12.1 of the browser, now available for free in the Google Play store. The popular mobile browser also gains some web fraud detection features and wider support for HTML 5 standards Read more »
NetSuite, DocuSign, Jive, SugarCRM, Concur and Oracle sign on early to new Box Embed program but with erstwhile Box partners like Salesforce.com and other vendors now doing their own cloud file-share-and-sync, Box does need some reinforcements. Read more »
On this week’s audio podcast, Matt shares two weeks of using an iPhone 5 while Kevin tries to sway Matt to buy a Galaxy Note 2, a high performing 5.5-inch Android phone that runs all day (and more!) on a single charge. Read more »
My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 arrived and so did an update that adds the ability to run two apps on the screen at the same time. Atooma, a free beta app, is making all of my Androids smarter and Sony launched PlayStation Mobile this week. Read more »
After seven years of legal battles, Google has finally reached an agreement with American book publishers that will let it scan and digitize books. The deal stands to make things better for readers and publishers — although Amazon is probably not happy about it. Read more »
The next Nexus phone may be based on the LG Optimus G, a 4-7-inch high-resolution handset with a quad-core processor and an ample 2 GB of memory. Leaked specs line up with recent chatter, indicating that this new Nexus could be announced next month. Read more »
The Galaxy Note 2 model for the Korean market has a nifty multi-window feature, but my international version of the 5.5-inch Android phone didn’t have it. Now it does thanks to a software update and this nifty functionality is quite useful on a larger display. Read more »
It’s hard to classify what Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2 is because it mostly requires two hands to use and has a 5.5-inch display. But it fits in a front pocket and makes voice calls. Here’s our first look at Samsung’s latest and greatest Android device. Read more »
Continuous integration (CI) tools are becoming a bigger deal in the software development world. That’s why Google is helping App Engine developers use Cloudbees’ Jenkins-in-the-cloud tool. Read more »
One benefit of Android phones is the ability for users and apps to access the phone’s sensors and controls to make things automatically happen. Apps to help with this automation can be complex and intimidating. Not Atooma: I had it making magic in just five minutes. Read more »
Sony is taking games beyond its own hardware with the Sony PlayStation Mobile platform. The game store opens today for Sony and Sony Xperia Android phones and tablets, with three HTC models to have access soon. Purchased games also run on Sony’s PS Vita. Read more »
One of Google’s biggest Android challenges has been devices running various versions of the software. But two things have happened that are helping the issue disappear as 1 in 4 Android devices now run the Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean versions of Android. Read more »
The Nokia spin-off is solidifying its strategy of focusing on China first. The alliance around its mobile OS will be based in Hong Kong and take in major industry players from chipset vendors and OEMs to retailers and operators. Read more »
When HTC said it was changing strategies and cutting back on phone models, it never said anything about refreshing existing handsets. That’s precisely what it has in the HTC One X+: Same on the outside, but better performance and battery life with new internal hardware. Read more »
Thanks to the rise of online business, companies must now get their products and services to market as fast as they can, and releasing software now means small releases that occur very frequently. Enter devops, which is disrupting traditional assumptions about the roles of development and operations. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
After buying webOS and Palm for $1.2 billion, HP pulled the plug and open-sourced the platform. The first fruits of that labor are appearing as multiple devices are getting ports of the new Open webOS, keeping Palm’s excellent mobile operating system alive for many fans. Read more »
So I broke down and ordered a Galaxy Note 2 from overseas. Why spend the money when I have a Galaxy Nexus phone and Nexus 7 tablet? A video demo shows how Samsung is further bridging the mobile and traditional computing space and I bought in. Read more »
The more-wood-behind-fewer-arrows Google has announced its latest round of retired products, among them Insights for Search, which has been merged into Google Trends, and Google News Badges. Additionally, storage accounts will be consolidated across Picasa and Drive, giving users one pool of capacity. Read more »
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, has already apologized for the quality of Maps in iOS 6, which certainly acknowledges the issue. But how big of an issue is it? According to data from Snappli’s iOS app, people quickly adopted Apple Maps only to leave it even faster. Read more »
Cook apologizes to users for the mapping debacle touched off by the iOS 6 launch last week. In an open letter Friday he points customers to other mapping products to use until Apple’s maps data gets better. Read more »
It’s day two of Google’s 25 billion app download celebration and that means more twenty-five cent apps. My picks today include two fun puzzle games, a super-looking alarm clock and one of the most amazing camera apps that I’ve seen yet for any smartphone. Read more »
EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia has indicated that formal antitrust proceedings are almost certain in the case of Microsoft, and pretty likely with Google too. In both cases, fines could run into the billions. Read more »
Got an AMD chip in your Windows PC? Then you just gained access to more than half a million Google Android apps thanks to an AMD partnership with Bluestacks. A virtualization app and website filled with Android titles can help bridge your mobile and desktop world. Read more »
App developers are the cornerstones of the multibillion-dollar app market, but the overall community remains largely unknown. As app downloads increase, organizations that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
