Samsung's "phablet" Galaxy Note series has proved a surprise hit with consumers, and with the second iteration boasting one of the largest displays in the smartphone industry, its successor - according to a report from Samsung's native South Korea - will set a new benchmark in terms of screen real-estate. The Note II may already be enormous with its 5.5-inch offering, but as TheKoreaTimes reports, the Galaxy Note III could boast an eye-watering 6.3-inch display upon its release next year.
Jaws definitely dropped when Apple launched the first iOS 6 beta with no Google Maps support, but we have moved on since then through the Mapgate scandal and now we have the official launch of Google Maps for iOS through the App Store, that comes with a reported admission from within Google that this latest launch for Apple devices provides a better experience than its Android based counterpart.
There’s no doubt about the fact that the true power of Android operating system comes from the freedom of being able to use various custom ROMs – firmware that have been cooked directly from the AOSP portal, or that differ from the stock ones in features, or those that incorporate elements from other devices. Not only does that bring diversity to your otherwise-boring smartphone or tablet, but also unleash its full capabilities for your usage. However, not all custom ROMs might sit well with your smartphone, and from time to time, there might be a need to go back to stock software to start afresh.
China may have garnered itself the unwanted label as one of the knock-off capitals of the world, but there are an increasing number of companies - particularly in the mobile - looking to establish themselves alongside the global big boys like Samsung, LG, and Apple. One such outfit is Oppo, and if its just-announced Find 5 smartphone is a sign of things to come, the aforementioned market-leaders should be more than a little concerned. The device packs in the kind of features we're expecting of the Samsung Galaxy S IV, with 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, and a whopping 2GB of RAM. To top it off, it runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean!
Samsung Galaxy S III has been one of the most successful devices that the Korean company has come up with to date, and the Android beast boasts everything that is worthy of a flagship, and then some more. The massive 4.8-inch smartphone packs quite a punch when it comes to raw power, and for that reason, it was quick to receive root, custom firmware, custom recovery and lots of developer love in general. However, it’s no hidden fact that the device is perhaps too large for some users, and while manufacturers seem to be generally headed for large screens with lightweight armor, a tad lesser real-estate would be more comfortable for some. To cater to that crowd, Samsung has released the younger, smaller sibling to Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S III Mini I8190.
Yahoo! may have been bullied from its once-prominent web position by the likes of Google, but the Sunnyvale-based company still has something to offer. Today, Yahoo! has released a glut of new mail apps targeting those on iOS, Windows 8 and Android, as well as revamping its web-based offering, and we've got all the details after the jump.
Since being acquired by Facebook for close to a billion dollars all those months ago, it's fair to say Instagram hasn't changed a great deal. The tried-and-tested method of facilitating photos, filters, comments and likes hasn't gotten any less popular as we approach the end of 2012, and today, Instagram has pushed out a couple of new features to keep Instafans happy-snapping.
The collaborative effort of Google and manufacturer ASUS, the Nexus 7 tablet is one of the most popular Android devices on the market at the moment for a variety of reasons. It has power, style, and a price many can relate to; not to mention the fact it runs on the vastly-improved Android Jelly Bean. But the Nexus 7 hasn't only proved to be a hit with the general consumer, modders and developers have had a field day, and despite Google's decision not to include a microSD card slot, users have still had a lot of fun toying with the innards of the Nexus 7's software. Today, things have gotten even better courtesy of XDA-Developers member Tasssadar, with the introduction of a multi-boot tool for the coveted slate, and as ever, we've got the full details after the jump!
All smartphones and tablets facilitate the activation and deactivation of the ringing / alert system. Without this ability, we'd be left with loud ringer or message tones in the most inconvenient situations like meetings, libraries, or other such environments, but while slipping a device into silent mode isn't particularly taxing, it would be a great deal better if we could simply create a schedule for when we want our device to be silent, and when we want to hear it speak. It's certainly on my list of 'simple things smartphones should be able to do natively, but often can't,' and help is at hand for those on Android courtesy of an app by the name of Silence.
It has been around 7 months since Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S III to the world, but it still remains one of the most popular and powerful Android devices on the market and has managed to do a fantastic job in succeeding Samsung's previous S II device which is still a firm favorite in the Android community. We all know by now that companies like Samsung and Apple don't rest on their laurels when it comes to manufacturing and launching their next big product, and it looks like Samsung could be set to make a Galaxy S4 announcement early next year during the CES trade show that is being held from January 8th - 11th.
