Senator Al Franken pressed certain members of the wireless industry over two weeks ago for answers about their use of Carrier IQ, the controversial monitoring software that sparked fears that our personal data was being tracked without consent. Now that the deadline has come and gone, Senator Franken had a chance to review their statements and publish them in full on his website.
After reviewing each company’s official responses to his questions, Senator Franken noted that he’s still “very troubled” by the situation at hand. → Read More
The Galaxy Nexus is a beautiful phone, no doubt about it. That gorgeous 4.65-inch Super AMOLED Plus display paired with LTE support and a fresh build of ICS thrown in there for good measure is about as good as it gets. But the same things that make this phone great — its massive screen and LTE radio — are also the things that will leave you screaming at it at 4p.m. on a Thursday, when it’s completely dead.
But Samsung has prepared for this, launching an extended battery pack/cover bundle specifically for the Galaxy Nexus. → Read More
The Galaxy Nexus has been on sale here in the U.S. for mere hours, and it’s already getting its first refresh. But reports are bound to come in over the next week or so, but it looks as though Google had a few things that still needed fixing upon release.
In Android 4.0.2 build ICL53F, you’ll see improvements to your 3G/4G connection, your Wifi connection (including automatic reconnection to already-saved networks) and mobile hotspot enhancements. → Read More
It seems as though Verizon and Google have really screwed the pooch when it comes to the Galaxy Nexus launch. As of this very moment, we’re on our eighth rumored release date: tomorrow, December 15. The first was all the way back on November 3. In fact, these delays and the vague availability information provided by Verizon has led some to create a site entirely dedicated to whether or not Verizon has released the Galaxy Nexus.
It’s ridiculous.
But will all these delays make a huge difference in the popularity of the device? After a chat with Forrester Research’s Charles Golvin, I’m comfortable saying probably not. But even with the blogosphere’s extensive coverage of the device, it probably won’t be a blow-out success, either.
Here’s why: → Read More
If you’re anything like me and you’ve fallen in love with Ice Cream Sandwich’s looks, then seeing what Samsung has done to it may be a bit of a heartbreaker. SamMobile managed to get their hands on what seems to be an developer build of Android 4.0 with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI running on top of it, and have loaded it up on a Galaxy S II to play with.
Frankly, I think TouchWiz just ruined everything. → Read More
Ex-Googler and previously head of AOL Media and Studios – and I guess you could say the former boss of my boss’s boss – David Eun has been appointed Executive Vice President at consumer electronics giant Samsung.
At Samsung, Eun will be helping the company develop a ‘global media strategy’ for its array of digital TVs, smartphones, tablets and other connected devices. → Read More
Verizon is awash in solid tablet options right now, but their current LTE-capable lineup may leave you wanting for something a little less unwieldy. If the thought of manhandling a 10-inch tablet is too much to bear, then take note: Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be coming to Big Red in due course with support for the company’s 4G network in tow.
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The global slapfight between Apple and Samsung shows no sign of abating – a victory here, an injunction there, a ruling here, a reversal there – like Aesop’s goats, neither will give way and chances are they’re both going to end up the worse for it, though not likely at the bottom of a ravine.
It doesn’t mean that the conflict doesn’t furnish some interesting topics for discussion, however. Just recently, Apple submitted written testimony by an expert who shares their perspective on Samsung’s design decisions, and very kindly helped to compile a list of things Samsung might have done to differentiate its product. For example, Samsung could have opted not to make their tablet rectangular, or done away with the front bezel, or given it a “cluttered appearance.” Excellent suggestions!
Not surprisingly, there has been some discussion of Apple’s rather ridiculous list of design elements it claims as its own. It’s a good time to examine the creative decisions around the iPad from a different direction. It seems to me that Apple laid a trap for the entire consumer electronics industry, and they fell for it hard. And it’s really a triumph of positioning and branding. They essentially branded the tablet’s Platonic form. → Read More
The Galaxy Nexus, while something we’ve been super excited about, is turning out to be a real pain. Why? Because we can’t seem to figure out when the bleep this thing is supposed to launch. We heard it was supposed to be around today, and then we heard it wasn’t, and then we heard so many different dates it started to get stupid.
Now, however, Droid-Life is claiming to have found the needle in this incredibly annoying haystack. Apparently a “dozen” different sources have said that Verizon is finally letting its employees in on the launch date: December 15. → Read More
Sure, I’ve been terrified by the HTC Rhyme commercial, absolutely baffled by a 30-second Motorola Droid Bionic ad featuring two seconds of the Droid Bionic, and I’ve been amused by Sprint’s Evo 3D spots.
But no phone commercial has ever made me laugh out loud quite like this latest one from Samsung. → Read More
To say that Carrier IQ has been going through a lot is a bit of an understatement, and it looks like things are only getting worse. PaidContent reports that two class action lawsuits — one from Missouri and the other from Illinois — have been filed against the Mountain View-based company for supposedly violating the Federal Wiretap Act.
They’re not the only ones either: handset manufacturers HTC and Samsung have also been named as defendants in one lawsuit each. → Read More
White phones can be hit or miss. The white BlackBerry Pearl, for example, is an ugly phone. Period. But some white phones can be sexy little beasts, as is the new snow-white Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket.
That’s right, just a few weeks after hitting AT&T shelves in black, a white version of the phone will be made available on December 4. → Read More
This week we bring you the Fujifilm X10, the Galaxy Tab 8.9, and my new standing desk. The standing desk, incidentally, is my second desk, which puts me firmly in the 1% camp when it comes to home workstations.
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Short Version
The Galaxy Tab 8.9 is a nearly perfect size and weight and, thanks to a few user experience updates, is an excellent vehicle for Android Honeycomb 3.1. In many cases the dreaded Android lag is gone and 8.9 screen size is, like the baby bear’s porridge, just right. → Read More
Yandex, the Russian online search and advertising giant, has teamed up with Microsoft, Nokia, HTC and Samsung to become the default search engine on the latest – and upcoming – Windows Phone smartphones in Russia.
Yandex’s search engine is currently installed on Samsung’s Оmnia W, which is already on sale in Russia, as well as on Nokia’s Windows Phone-powered Lumia 800 and Lumia 710 smartphones, which will hit stores in December. → Read More
While smartphone adoption continues to pick up steam here in the U.S., new research from Strategy Analytics shows that China is hungrier for smartphones than we are. For the first time ever, China has pulled ahead of the United States in terms of the number of smartphones shipped. → Read More
I’ve always been something of a fan (a proponent, even) of white phones. Back in another life when I was consulting mobile manufacturers on their phone designs, it was always one of the first questions I’d ask: “This is great! Can you make it in white?”
Back then, everybody acted like I was crazy. “White is too hard to keep clean!” they’d assure me. “The white bezel makes the black screen look smaller!” they’d say. These days, of course, white phones are all the rage.
Sometime before the holidays, another flagship phone is now set to hop on the big list of handsets with snowy variants: the Samsung Galaxy S II. → Read More
You know, I’m beginning to think that Samsung’s factory lines are rigged up like the bus in Speed. If at any time they drop below 50 newly created Android phones per month, bam! Factory falls down and Keanu Reeves never hooks up with Sandra Bullock.
Alternative Intro: Samsung and Verizon are incredibly excited about their latest handset, the Samsung Illusion. You can always tell a company is excited about a product when much of the press release is dedicated to the riveting details, like its Underwriters Laboratory score. → Read More
It’s the age old tale. Company makes phone. Company codenames phone (sometimes multiple times). Company dabbles back and forth between a couple names before ultimately choosing the wrong one (*cough* HTC ChaCha *cough*). Retailer changes the name of the phone anyway, usually back to the better name (but sometimes to a ridiculously long and uselessly vague name). Happily ever after.
Today the cycle repeats with none other than the holy grail of Android handsets, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus? Or is it Prime? → Read More
Keyboard-loving Android fans historically haven’t had much luck with AT&T’s lineup — a quick look at their wares reveals only a handful of options, none of which are terribly impressive. The Captivate Glide is AT&T’s most recent attempt at marrying a full QWERTY keyboard and a competitive spec sheet, but will it find an audience outside of hardcore messagers? Read on to find out. → Read More
