Main menu

May

Samsung Galaxy S4 Has Only Half of 16 GB Advertised Storage

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 11:15 am

(Image Source: Android Central)

In the days following the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch on most major carriers in the United States, a number of users have complained about the lack of available storage on the handset. After accounting for the operating system and other native bloatware, Geek (via BGR) reports that the Galaxy S4 only has about half of its advertised 16 GB storage free for usage.

Samsung has preloaded a number of applications on the Galaxy S4 — S Health, S Travel, S Translator and so forth — that chew through 45 percent of the smartphone’s storage capacity. So, despite being advertised as a 16 GB device, the Galaxy S4 has a mere 8.82 GB of free space. While the Samsung device does support a microSD card for up to 64 GB of additional space, the situation is still rather misleading.

[Geek via BGR]

May

Rumor: 5.99-Inch Galaxy Note III to Have 8-Core Processor, 8-Core GPU

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 10:49 am

Samsung’s Galaxy Note III could be as large as the Galaxy Mega, pictured above, with an octa-core processor and octa-core GPU. (Image Source: The Inquirer)

Samsung rumor site SamMobile, citing trusted insiders, reports that the Galaxy Note III will have an Exynos 5 octa-core processor, Mali 450 GPU with eight cores and 3 GB of RAM. Moreover, the handset will pack a large 5.99-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display with diamond pixel structure, and a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera.

According to the report, the next-generation Galaxy Note device could launch in the August to September timeframe at IFA 2013 in Berlin. Last year, the Samsung Galaxy Note II was also announced in Berlin at the same consumer electronics show. The monstrous handset will run the latest version of the Android operating system, which could be Android 4.3 by time the device arrives.

[SamMobile]

iMIUI Theme Ports Popular Android ROM to iPhone

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 1:26 pm

iMIUI

MIUI is one of the most popular custom ROMs available for Android, redefining the look of the platform with an original user interface and improvements to over 200 software features. And while the iPhone is obviously incompatible with the software, several graphic designers have been working on porting the design of MIUI into an iOS theme. Last month it was Minimal MIUI, and now it’s iMIUI.

iMIUI is a MIUI V5 port on deviantART that promises to be better than the original concept on Android, or so its maker onehalfkiller claims. The theme remains a work-in-progress thus far, with the lock screen, clock widget, custom icons and Compass app redesign completed. All that remains is some work on the Phone dialer, and then iMIUI should appear on Cydia. We’ll let you know when it’s available. A video demo of MIUI V5 follows. (more…)

Regarding Apple, VP of Swype Says ‘We’ve Chatted With Them’

Posted by Stephen Hall at 9:16 pm

2013-04-25 23_08_46-Nuance Swype

Nuance is a company known for its voice recognition software–notably Dragon– as well as Android’s Swype keyboard. Interestingly, the Vice President of the Swype division at Nuance has said in a Reddit AMA that they have had talks with Apple. Could this mean the potential inclusion of Swype-like software in a future version of iOS? (more…)

HTC One: The New Underdog

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 11:14 am

HTC One Front

Believe it or not, early reaction by competitors to Apple releasing the iPhone was laughable. Simply put, most companies did not believe that the Cupertino-based corporation would be all that successful with its venture into the smartphone market. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer essentially wrote off the first-generation iPhone and its high price tag, while BlackBerry executives were reportedly baffled by the iPhone and thought its technology was impossible. (more…)

Samsung Galaxy S4 Reviews: An Improvement, But No Game-Changer

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 2:18 pm

Samsung Galaxy S4 Front Facing

The earliest reviews on the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone have hit the web, just a few days ahead of the handset launching on AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. The general consensus surrounding the device is that, while it certainly has a large, beautiful screen and powerful hardware, it also has so-called “gimmicky features” on the software side and “isn’t a game-changer.”

Most editors also agree that Samsung botched the Galaxy S4 design by sticking with thermoplastic, and recommend its new rival Android smartphone, the HTC One, as a result. Continue reading for some interesting excerpts from reviews by leading publications. (more…)

RIP Tweetdeck: Twitter Killing iPhone, Android Apps on May 7th

Posted by Jonathan Kizer at 5:20 pm

tweetdeck-iphone

We’ve known for a while now that Twitter doesn’t really care for third-party clients, and we have also known that Twitter doesn’t see a future for Tweetdeck — a fairly popular client that relied on custom panes to display tweets — on mobile.

Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Twitter will be killing off Tweetdeck for iPhone and Android, as well as Tweetdeck on Adobe AIR, on May 7th. From then on, the app will literally not work for anyone, due to the API ceasing to function correctly. In addition, the remaining Tweetdeck applications (which exist on platforms like Windows, Mac, and as a Chrome web app) will no longer offer support to post Facebook updates.

[TheNextWeb]

HTC One: The Best Android Smartphone Just Launched in the United States

Posted by Joe Rossignol at 8:50 am

HTC One Front

The HTC One is officially available in the United States, launching Friday on carriers AT&T and Sprint. Meanwhile, the handset will land on T-Mobile next Wednesday. The HTC One has received rave reviews since its unveiling, with BGR claiming it is “the best Android smartphone on the planet” right now as part of its in-depth review of the device. Likewise, The Verge referred to the HTC One as “one of the best-designed smartphones” in its own review.

The HTC One — not to be confused with the HTC One X — packs a 4.7-inch display with an impressive 468 PPI, 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon system-on-a-chip processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a new “UltraPixel” camera that pairs with software called “Zoe” to give users the ability to take high-resolution photos with professionally designed cuts, transitions and effects. The handset is $199.99 with a new two-year service agreement.

What Could Amazon Be Doing with a Siri Competitor?

Posted by Jonathan Kizer at 5:34 pm

Evi

When Siri was launched alongside the iPhone 4S, it was truly a unique product in many ways. While voice assistants had existed in similar forms, Siri was the first mobile voice interface that truly worked – but that title didn’t last long.

Users on Android, long accustomed to having an incredibly feature-rich device, soon were provided with an alternative in the form of Evi. Evi, which was also available on iOS, has apparently been sold to Amazon for roughly $26 million. (more…)