LG Optimus Vu/Intuition press shot spotted, possible 15th September release

Last week we reported that the LG Optimus Vu “phablet” could be rebranded as the LG Intuition when it eventually makes its way onto Verizon. While we’re sure many of you guys are probably aware of how the LG Optimus Vu looks like, the folks at DroidDog have received an image of what appears to be the press shot of the device when it arrives on Verizon, and more interestingly it seems that a 15th of September release date has been speculated. This is thanks to a date which was spotted in the press shot of the image, as dates and icons in press shots are usually pretty good indicators of when the device could be launching. However since Verizon has yet to actually announce the device, let alone give it a release date, we suggest you take this with a grain of salt for now but do check back with us in September as hopefully an official release date will be given.
Via- DroidDog

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Samsung may announce Galaxy S Camera alongside Galaxy Note 2

IFA 2012 is almost upon us and all manufacturers are getting all their new toys ready. The latest rumor claims that there is going to be a little special something coming from Samsung, though – the Samsung Galaxy S Camera.

We have heard about an Android-based camera coming from Samsung for some time. The rumor has been dying, but it seems Samsung might have not given up on the idea. GSM Arena’s sources claim that this camera is in the works, and will be announced during IFA, next to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

The device is described as a “Galaxy S3 glued to the back of a point-and-shoot camera.” It will be 1.5 to 2 times thicker than Samsung’s flagship device and feature a curved right side (ergonomics) and a pop=out Xenon flash.

It is also said to sport a 16 MP sensor and run Android 4.0, available in both WiFi-only a 3G versions. Of course, the Samsung Galaxy S Camera would not be meant to replace your smartphone, so carrier connectivity is said to be limited to data. We simply can’t see who would want to pay an extra monthly fee for a camera, but that is the rumor, and some of you just may need that.

Remember that this is simply a rumor, so it might be a bad idea to hold your breath on it. Android cameras may seem a bit far-fetched at this point. It surely seems like an odd market to target, but Polaroid and Nikon are taking their shots. Who is to say Samsung can’t make a Samsung Galaxy S Camera?

IFA 2012 is just around the corner, so let’s stick around and see what comes from Samsung and all other manufacturers. But what do you guys say – would you be down for a Samsung Galaxy S Camera?

[Via: GSM Arena]

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Review Motorola's RAZR V

What was once considered a fantastic device must be weighed against others recently released, and usually in the same price range. The Motorola RAZR V is in a very interesting position right now for those two reasons.
Motorola hasn’t made too much noise since the release of the revamped Rogers-exclusive RAZR in November. Now, nine months later, the RAZR V hits the market on Bell and Virgin for a significantly more affordable price in a body that makes some concessions to achieve it. In many ways this is the same phone that Motorola released last year — internally and externally — but stands on its own with a great new build of Ice Cream Sandwich and a more compact design. Is it worth your time and money? Read on to find out.
Specs
- Android 4.0.4 with (slightly) custom Motorola skin
- 4.3-inch 960×540 TFT display with ColorBoost
- 1.2Ghz dual-core TI OMAP 4430 SoC
- 1GB RAM, 4GB internal storage, microSD slot
- 8MP back camera with flash, 0.3MP front-facing camera
- WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM Radio
- 65.8 x 128.5 x 8.35 mm
- 125g

Design & Display
The RAZR V definitely resembles the original with its angular face, sloping Kevlar backing and chrome accents, but Motorola has certainly toned down the quality of materials. While the RAZR V by no means feels cheap, there is a definite plasticky aspect to it that was absent on the premium-feeling RAZR.
The RAZR V is also some 5mm narrower than the sometimes-unwieldy RAZR, and it feels much more comfortable in the hand as a result. The screen, too, while on paper the same as the RAZR — a 4.3-inch display at 960×540 pixels — is somewhat sharper and less distracting than its predecessor. Instead of going the Super AMOLED route, Motorola opted for a traditional TFT LCD display, making text significantly sharper and whites much more accurate. While it loses the deep blacks and lovely colour saturation that comes with a Super AMOLED screen, we did not miss the RAZR’s moiré aberrations and distinct lack of sharpness.
While the device, at around 8.4mm thick, does not come close to the impossibly thin dimensions of its predecessor, we think Motorola made the right move for the end user. It’s more compact overall, which makes it feel like a smaller handset despite being 1.3mm thicker than the RAZR.
Note that the RAZR V uses a regular-sized SIM over a microSIM, and shares a latch door with the microSD slot on the left hand side. The volume rocker is nicely delineated on the right, and the power button, headset jack and microUSB port sit flush on the top.

Performance & Software
As the RAZR V uses largely the same internal hardware as the Rogers version released last year, we weren’t expecting any performance miracles. Motorola has done a lot with the software, however, and this is not your mother’s MOTOBLUR. The version we see on the RAZR V, which runs Android 4.0.4, resembles in many ways the stock Ice Cream Sandwich experience. While transitions between homescreens are not quite as smooth as those on the Galaxy Nexus, we felt right at home navigating around the menus.
The RAZR V uses Texas Instrument’s aging OMAP 4430 processor clocked at 1.2Ghz, with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage. It’s also limited to Bell’s HSPA+ network at 14.4Mbps, but many of these things are built into the price. Still, considering the ATRIX HD LTE is only $20 more on the same Bell network and offers a better array of internal hardware and software, we’d be inclined to recommend that one over the RAZR V. If you’re insistant on the smaller form factor, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the spritely app load times, total lack of lagginess when scrolling through the browser, and a stability that could only have come from Motorola.

The company’s SmartActions have been updated for ICS, and now provide recommendations based on usage patterns. For example, the device can keep track of your favourite locations or times of day and, based on your battery life, enable a Battery Saving mode. Similarly, if you tend to go to bed every night around midnight, you can have SmartActions enable Silent Mode and suppress the screen from turning on during the night if you receive a notification.
Motorola has also added a four-way lockscreen shortcut system that provides easy access to the camera, phone and messaging. But perhaps the most notable admission of Motorola’s integration into Google’s corporate culture is the inclusion of virtual buttons in place of capacitive ones. Both the RAZR V and ATRIX HD LTE sport the Galaxy Nexus-like on-screen navigation icons, and while they have been slightly altered from stock, they work identically. We couldn’t be happier.

Camera
The 8MP camera on the RAZR V does a decent job at capturing moments in good lighting, but suffers from Motorola’s reliable distortion and softness. That’s not to say the camera is bad — the interface is fantastic, with easy-to-reach granular controls, and the shutter is snappy for a piece of older tech — but it doesn’t reach the heights of other 8MP sensors on the market. With the bar being set so high by the iPhone 4S, Galaxy S III and HTC One X, it’s easy to dismiss the RAZR V as underperforming. But we have to take into account the handset’s price — $399 outright or $29.95 on a 3-year term — and cut it a bit of slack as a result.

The device can also shoot modestly smooth and detailed 1080p video, though again it lacks the sharpness and smoothness of its ATRIX HD LTE sibling. The VGA front-facing camera does a decent job at video chats and vanity shots, but we wouldn’t recommend using it for anything other than a mirror.

Battery Life
SmartActions is supposed to allow your battery to last up to 30% longer than an equivalent device, but we were happy to find that the RAZR V didn’t need it to last a full day. The 1750mAh battery was sufficiently large to see us through most of the day with regular calling, browsing, emailing, photo-ing and more. While the PowerVR SGX540 GPU is no longer the graphical beast it once was, we found it to be pretty light on the battery wallet when playing games or watching video.
We were a bit vexed that Motorola didn’t manage to squeeze in a larger battery — something like the 3300mAh cell of the RAZR MAXX would have been nice — considering all the extra proverbial legroom, but we’d imagine it would have raised the price of the handset considerably. Nevertheless, the juice, coupled with liberal application of battery-oriented SmartActions, should allow for one-day-plus usage from the RAZR V.

Call Quality, Network Speed & Miscellaneous
As with all Motorola phones, the RAZR V is solid as a phone. Call quality is unsurpassed in the industry, with a sharp, clear feed that never sounds muddled or sibilant. Call volume, too, is more than adequate for even the loudest of rooms, and Motorola’s background noise suppression works very well.
Because the RAZR V is a HSPA+ device, it’s network speeds are limited to Bell’s 3G network. We were able to achieve around 4-6Mbps download and 0.5-2Mbps upload depending on the location and time of day. Compared to the newest LTE devices this is nothing to write home about, but we were pretty pleased with the performance overall.
Bell and Motorola have bundled a number of apps on the RAZR V, including some business-oriented services such as Citrix GoToMeeting and Receiver. There’s also a full version of Gameloft’s Asphalt 6 and Bell’s Mobile TV app, among others. Because the platform has been upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich, you can now disable unwanted apps, which is the next best thing to being able to uninstall them.

Conclusions
The Bell Motorola RAZR V is a good little smartphone at a decent price. Because its bigger brother, the ATRIX HD LTE, is priced so closely — just $20 more than the RAZR’s $29.95 on a 3-year term — we can’t fully endorse it unless you’re buying it outright. At $399.95, it’s an excellent deal if you’re looking to go off-contract and want an all-round high-performing handset with a great screen, good battery life and a solid, close-to-stock operating system.

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Microsoft Releases the free trail version of Windows 8

Microsoft gives the trail version of windows 8 to the people .The download is in the form of ISO images and
is available for 32-bit as well as 64-bit platforms.The download is available in the following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), English, English (UK), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), and Spanish. You can use this Windows 8 Enterprise Edition Trial Version for 90-days, after which you will have to uninstall it.

So if you are planning to buy Windows 8 anytime soon, this is a good opportunity to download it and try it out for free. Do note that the trial edition will expire and you will not be able to upgrade it. You will have to uninstall the trial and then install Windows 8 de nova from its original installation media. It might therefore be a better idea to run Windows 8 Enterprise Edition Trial Version in a virtual environment, thereby allowing you to upgrade your original Windows installation to Windows 8.


You will be required to login with your Microsoft Account during installation and activate it within 10 days of its installation. No product key is required for it. If you fail to activate it within 10 days or on expiry of the 90-day evaluation period, your desktop will turn black.

Download Windows 8 Enterprise Edition Trial Version : 32-bit | 64-bit.

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Apple suggests using iMessage to SMS vulnerability concerns

Apple on Saturday responded to reports of a vulnerability to SMS spoofing that can be done to users of the company’s iPhone.

“Apple takes security very seriously. When using iMessage instead of SMS, addresses are verified which protects against these kinds of spoofing attacks,” an Apple representative told The Loop. “One of the limitations of SMS is that it allows messages to be sent with spoofed addresses to any phone, so we urge customers to be extremely careful if they’re directed to an unknown website or address over SMS.”

There is a key point in what Apple told me. A lot has been written in the press about how the “iPhone” has this problem, but Apple isn’t alone.

The vulnerability is not with the iPhone, but rather with the SMS technology. The iPhone is not alone in being susceptible to this type of attack — all phones that use SMS can be tricked in the same way. That’s why the verification and security of using iMessage is so much better.

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Samsung might release a 5.8″ Galaxy Player/Tab

If SamMobile were to be trusted, the Galaxy Note 2 might not be the only 5+ inch device unveiled by Samsung at IFA 2012. A tip they received points to a 5.8 inch Galaxy Player which would run Ice Cream Sandwich, unlike previous Galaxy Players that all run Gingerbread.

While the feature-set isn’t too shabby for a media player, I can’t help be concerned about the size. At 5.8 inches, the device seems far too large to be a media player, and way too small to be a tablet. Android-based devices in the domain are already a niche, with a 5.8 inch screen they might be significantly limiting themselves even in that small subset. I fail to see how it could prove to be a commercial success, but hey, that’s how I felt about the Galaxy Note.

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Apple becomes the New Leader in Smartphone Sales

The old war horse has finally been beaten in the race. It was already losing breath and now the competitors have inched ahead officially.

After 15 years of unrestrained smartphone segment dominance, the embattled Finnish major succumbed to Steve Job's Apple Inc. and Korean giant Samsung. Analysts confirmed last week that Apple and Samsung have ended Nokia's 15-year reign at the top of the smartphone sales rankings in the second quarter of the year. The US firm Apple is now the new market leader in the smartphone segment.

Nokia had ruled the roost ever since the launch of Communicator model in 1996 but couldn't handle the increasing competition from its two closest rivals Apple and Samsung during the last year or so. Then there was a record slump in its own sales as well. This sent it straight from first to third place in the three months to June. The firm's market share has dipped to 25% - its lowest level since 1999.

Apple sold a record 20.3 million iPhones in the quarter despite the fact that its iPhone 4 model is now more than a year old. Then came Samsung adding to the woes of Nokia with a sales figure of 19.2 million phones. Nokia, the wounded tiger, could only manage to sell 16.7 million handsets. However,the company can take some solace in the fact that it still remains the overall market leader in the mobile phone market comprising phones belonging to all segments.

Apple emerged as the “star performer” during the quarter, albeit, it only commands a meagre 6% of the overall market share and remains the world's fourth-biggest mobile phone seller behind Nokia, Samsung and LG.

Samsung has tremendously benefitted from the growing popularity of Google's Android OS. The ageing Symbian is proving to be a bane for Nokia with the number of takers for it diminishing. Samsung's Galaxy portfolio has struck a chord with the users, especially the high-end Galaxy S2 has seen record sales.

Strategy Analytics, a global research and consulting firm which published the report says that Samsung is now "breathing down Nokia's neck". The report clearly outlines the reasons for Nokia's fall: “An unexciting touchphone portfolio, inventory corrections in Asia and Western Europe, wavering demand for the Symbian platform and limited presence in the huge US market continue to weigh on Nokia's near-term performance”.

In India too, Nokia is facing the heat generated by Apple and Samsung. iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2 are selling like hot cakes in spite of Nokia launching a new handset every other month. HTC and LG are also performing quite well and they are eating out of Nokia's pie. And, not to forget the homegrown makers like Micromax, Lava etc. which have rolled out an array of okay-ish but cheap smartphones to combat the biggies.

The folks at Nokia need to do some hardcore brainstorming if they wish to seek a revival. And whatever they do, they have to get rid of that ancient relic called Symbian or at least overhaul it completely. Some analysts already forecast for Samsung to become the world's largest cellphone vendor next year.

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