Although we didn't expect an official announcement quite this soon, we have been aware for quite some time that Google was planning on bringing a collection of gift cards to certain retail outlets which would allow users to purchase virtual currency that can then be exchanged for goods and services from the Play Store. It hasn't really been a great secret that they were coming and we've already seen them out in the public eye as well as evidence of the cards in the Google Play Store app.
The Galaxy Nexus, released by Samsung in conjunction with Google in November of last year, had a legion of fans who loved the curved glass design that featured a gorgeous Super AMOLED display. If you happen to be one of those fans and have been waiting patiently for the next iteration then it looks like you are about to be in for a treat. Information has emerged about a product that has been given the code name "Superior", the model number GT-i9260 and could be the successor to the popular Galaxy Nexus.
If you thought that the Galaxy S II was done and dusted as a brand for a wide variety of Android smartphones from Samsung in 2011, you’re going to be disappointed. After variants like (S II) LTE, HD LTE, Epic 4G Touch, Skyrocket, Captivate Glide, the Korean company is strongly rumored to be introducing one (hopefully) last variant called the Galaxy S II Plus. Check out the details regarding its looks and hardware specifications after the jump.
Mobile devices like smartphones and tablets mean big business across the world, which in turn means that apps which are developed and submitted to marketplaces like the iOS App Store and Google's Play Store for Android are also capable of turning up large amounts of money for the developer as well as the operating system owner. We already know that Apple turns over a substantial amount of money from their 30% cut of App Store sales, which is enough for them to break even and provide an app economy that effectively doesn't cost them a dime to run.
CyanogenMod 10 has been demoed via Google+ quite frequently on a number of devices over the past couple of months, and now the CM10 Team has taken to the Big G's social network to officially reveal CM10 nightly builds, now available for a handful of devices.
This 5.8-Inch Display Boasting Galaxy S III Imitating Device Could Be The Next Galaxy Player [IMAGE]
The popularity of smartphones can't really be brought into question, after all, the sales figures speak for themselves across the world. But what about those individuals who know what device they want to use as their main phone but want to make an additional purchase to handle their own personal media or music needs? The iPod touch is definitely one of the major contenders, but the accepted device for those Android lovers seems to be Samsung's Galaxy Media Player.
Apple maybe riding on a wave of unprecedented pre-release interest in their next-generation iPhone that is due to be announced next month, but it isn't all sunshine and happiness for the Cupertino-based technology giants. Although the next few weeks represents an extremely exciting time for Apple and all those who are involved in the iPhone project, legal representatives of the company are still locked in an ongoing patent battle with Samsung with proceedings set to come to an end at some point next week.
Android manufacturers aren’t the very best when it comes to supporting their smartphones after the initial point of sale. You get the occasional bug fixes, performance improvements and such, but upgrades to major new versions of Android come way too infrequently and very late. This is in contrast to Apple’s strong support for their devices: the iPhone 3GS is almost more than 3 years old now and is still slated to get iOS 6 later this year.
With a slew of great new smartphones, tablets and even a new operating system in the form of Jelly Bean (4.1), Android has received plenty of good press over the past couple of months. In fact, there's been such a buzz about Google's mobile OS, that it's easy to forget just how many reported malware outbreaks threaten to jeopardize everything the Web company is attempting to build.
Back in July, it was reported and later confirmed that the Verizon variant of the Galaxy S III would come with a locked bootloader due to the company’s concerns over it “preventing Verizon Wireless from providing the same level of customer experience and support” as they have apparently established before.

