Buy the HTC One X starting at $129

Despite all the power that resides in the guts of the HTC One X, the handset has been a victim of bugs as well and these issues on the handset have had their share of digital ink in the past couple of days. To take care of some of the bugs that reside on the superphone, its manufacturer has decided to rollout a software update for the handset. If you happen to rock the international version of the HTC One X for your mobile weapon of choice, chances are you would be waking up to a notification on your handset about the arrival of the software update on your HTC One X.

The said software update weighs in at just 14MB and is much smaller compared to the previous OTA updates that landed on the HTC One X in the past. Once applied to the handset, the software update will crank up the version of the HTC One X to version 1.29.401.11 and despite its smaller stature, the update is still an important one as it brings several bug fixes that will take care of some of the more annoying bugs on the handset so it is highly-advisable that you download and apply this update on your HTC One X as soon as it becomes available.

Early adopters of the update have reported that it will correct the issues on the HTC One X associated with the flickering screen of the HTC One X. Not only that, it will also take care of the bugs that pertain to the USB storage of the handset. Sad to say, the Wi-Fi bug that hampers the performance of the handset is still present after the handset has been updated but we are pretty certain that HTC is already hard at work for a software update that will get this taken care of and it is just a matter of time before we see it finally hitting the airwaves. In the meantime, let us get reacquainted with the handset by going through its specs sheet.

The HTC One X ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and this is powered by the handset’s NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset which essentially gives the device a quad-core 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a full gigabyte of RAM. The storage space of the handset comes up to 32GB wherein 26GB is for user-content while its display is a 4.7-inch SuperIPS LCD2 panel with a 1280 x 720 resolution. It also comes with an impressive camera department that outfits the handset with a main 8MP autofocus shooter with LED flash at its back panel and a 1.3MP webcam out front.  Buy the HTC One X starting at $129

article from: Mobile Bloom

How is this different from the current strategy? Google has up till now followed a policy of providing a new version to a ‘lead device maker’ (it’s Nexus line) before sending it out to others at a later point in time. The devices are then sold to consumer via retailers and wireless carriers.

The reason for the expansion in direct sales was made with the aim of improving control over essential features and apps which run on tablets and smartphones powered by Android. This will reduce the influence of wireless carriers over such things. The new strategy also sidelines fears that Google will provide early access to Motorola in order to improve its rather abysmal sales numbers. A spokeswoman for Google asserted that the company’s choice of the ‘lead’ device maker has often upset other companies and sighted it as one of the reasons for the change in strategy.

The company’s new strategy will involve five different manufacturers in order to create a portfolio for Google’s Nexus line, both in tablets and smartphones. Google also plans on selling some of these devices directly through Google Play. There are even plans to lure involve retailers to help in selling various devices. This new strategy will see effect only when Google releases the next version of Android; Jelly Bean. Google also hopes that this strategy will improve the rather abysmal sales numbers of Android powered tablets against the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

However, applying this strategy is easier said than done.  Especially in a country like US, where consumers love to test a product before purchasing it and there is also the added threat of wireless carriers that sell the phones at cheaper rates, courtesy of multiyear contracts. The new phones will be unlocked, i.e. they won’t have a wireless carrier and will need a SIM card to run. Selling an unlocked phone costs around $150-300 more than a contracted phone, plus the consumer will have to bear the cost of a new contract as well (in all likelihood). Hence, Google is taking a big risk in implementing this strategy.

article from: Mobile Bloom

Buy the LG Spectrum 4G starting at just $19

In fact, this announcement is very close to the last one and the addition of new markets is as follows:

• Lake Charles and Thibodaux, LA
• Sheridan, WY
• Hyannis / Mid-Cape, MA
• Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Martinsville, and Waynesboro / Staunton, VA
• Burlington / Northern, VT
• Benton Harbor / St Joseph, MI
• Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Oxford, MS
• Toms River and Atlantic City, NJ
• Dickinson and Williston, ND
• Paris, TX
• Mitchell, SD
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• Lancaster, New Castle, Northern Cambria County, Oil City / Franklin, Somerset and York, PA
• Ashtabula, Defiance and Bucyrus, OH
• Springfield / Eugene, OR

The expansion on the other hand will happen in the following areas:

• Erie, PA
• Canton, Lima, Mansfield, Toledo, Warren and Youngstown, OH
• Hagerstown, MD
• Lakeland and Fort Myers, FL
• Dover, DE
• Denver, Co

If you happen to live in any of the areas mentioned above, the 4G LTE network of Verizon will be up and running by May 17 and if you want to fully maximize all the benefits brought about by the LTE network of the wireless provider such as ultra-fast mobile internet speeds, you need to get your hands on a 4G LTE-supporting handset from the lineup of the wireless provider.

And when it comes to the best budget LTE device in the stable of Verizon, nothing will come close to the LG Spectrum 4G. Not only will the handset let you take advantage of the LTE network of Verizon, it will also do so without denting your budget too much. That said, the handset is currently offered by an online retailer for only $19.99 with a new two-year agreement with the wireless carrier, a price point that will usually get you a decent entry-level device but instead will let you go home with a full-features smartphone for that matter.

The LG Spectrum 4G has Android 2.3 Gingerbread for its operating system and this powered by a QualComm MSM8660 SnapDragon chipset. The snappy and buttery-smooth performance of the handset is brought about by its dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion processor and 1GB of RAM while its Adreno 220 graphics chip handles graphical concerns. The massive 4.5-inch HD-IPS LCD panel of the LG Spectrum 4G with its 1280  x 720 resolution is perfect for the consumption of your multimedia content while its capable camera department will let you leave the old point and shoot at home with its 8MP rear shooter and 1.3MP front snapper. Buy the LG Spectrum 4G starting at just $19

article from: Mobile Bloom

Samsung, along with being the leading producer of handsets also manufactures hardware and screens which are used in other smartphones. Samsung earns most of its smartphone revenue through Android offerings. 56 percent of the new smartphones in the market run on Android, almost twice as many as Apple.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S II starting at just one penny!

Devices by Samsung are available in a range of prices and the possibility of cheaper models running on Android coming up has pushed consumers in Asia to patiently wait for better deals to come their way. Low end handsets and feature phones that are incapable of running a variety of applications are now fast declining in the market according to analysts.

The smartphone market is increasingly becoming commoditized. According to a study by Gartner, a research company, Samsung is the only vendor who has a share of more than 10 percent in the market for Android run devices. While Microsoft had a share of 2.6 percent in the handsets sold last year, their share has now fallen to 1.9 percent. Meanwhile, Nokia experienced a drop of market share to 19.8 percent. According to Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, in collaboration with Microsoft Nokia is hoping to introduce Windows Phone as the third ecosystem which will compete with Apple and Android.

The smartphones running Symbian accounted for 8.6 percent, which is only one third of its share in the last year. On the whole, Nokia’s share in the smartphone market, counting the N9 and Windows Phone, was 9.2 percent. Nokia successfully managed to outshine Apple whose share in the handset market stands at 7.9 percent.

On account of economic uncertainty, the possibility of smartphone upgrades has seen a decline in the markets of Western Europe. Leading in the market is Samsung, followed by Apple and Nokia. Gartner has predicted the sale of 1.9 billion handsets and 650 million smartphones in this year, showing a growth of 5.5 and 38 percent in both cases respectively. However, by 2015 Windows Phone is expected to be second best to Android, leaving Apple behind, predicted analysts.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S II starting at just one penny!

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus starting at $49.

article from: Mobile Bloom

Check out all Samsung Galaxy S II models starting at just one penny!

In the case of the Samsung smartphones that were released by US carriers, the manufacturer released confirmation three weeks ago as to which of these devices will get the jump to Ice Cream Sandwich. The list released by the manufacturer was done on a carrier by carrier basis and it was great to get the confirmation directly from the manufacturer regarding this. However, during the release of the update, the Samsung smartphones released by T-Mobile were nowhere to be found on the list.

After much waiting, the manufacturer finally came through and has released information as to which of its T-Mobile branded smartphones will get cranked up to ICS thereby completing the ICS picture for Samsung smartphones released in US shores. With this, we finally got the confirmation that the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G will also get upgraded to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Check out all Samsung Galaxy S II models starting at just one penny!

Sad to say, the manufacturer did not give out any reason as to what took them so long in releasing the T-Mobile list and we are sincerely hoping that this delay wouldn’t get translated to a similar delay in the release of the ICS update for the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G. That being said, the manufacturer neither released a specific ETA as to when we can expect the ICS update for the Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G from T-Mobile but Samsung announced that it is working with the wireless provider to make the transition of the Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G from Gingerbread to Ice Cream Sandwich as quickly and as smoothly as possible. While waiting for that to happen, we have the specs sheet of the T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G to keep you company.

The Samsung Galaxy  S II 4G relies on a QualComm APQ8060 SnapDragon chipset to power its operation and the said SoC gives the handset a dual-core Scorpion processor clocked at 1.5 GHz and a full gigabyte of RAM to deliver the computing muscle that it requires for a snappy performance. The handset comes with a 16GB of internal memory with an option to have it expanded using the microSD slot of the device while its display measures 4.52 inches and is of the SuperAMOLED Plus variety with a 480 x 800 resolution. The handset also comes outfitted with a rear-facing 8MP shooter and a 2MP webcam out front.  Check out all Samsung Galaxy S II models starting at just one penny!

article from: Mobile Bloom

Vodafone might segregate their companies operating in Europe into groups of companies in western Europe, another group consisting of Turkey and central and eastern Europe and a third group for assets in Indian and Southern Africa. All negotiations within the company are highly confidential and discussions are in the early stages. According to predictions by analysts, Paolo Bertoluzzo, head of the Italian office, Serpil Timuray, head of the company’s Turkey office and Michael Joseph, former CEO of the company’s Kenyan subsidiary will be seen handling bigger responsibilities in the future. Executives who fill in now have the opportunity to assume important positions in the company. However, the spokesperson for Vodafone did not comment on issues of reorganization.

Vittorio Colao, who has been the Chief Executive Officer since 2008, is now working on revamping the company’s structure for the third time. Combes, after having departed from Vodafone, will be seen heading Vivendi SA’s French wireless unit. John Buchanan, who has been the deputy chairman of Vodafone since 2003, is also expected to step down from the board sometime this summer. He will take over as the chairman of ARM Holdings. Luc Vandevelde, former chairman of Marks & Spencer, will assume position as the senior independent director in the company.

Vodafone’s stock has reduced by 4.7 percent in 2012. Vodafone has been faced with a slow rate of service revenue growth on account of decline in spending in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece. Since western Europe is otherwise their largest market for sales, Vodafone now intends to refocus on this region. This new unit in western Europe is expected to have revenue of over $14 billion pounds, with Vodacom and India contributing sales of around $4.9 billion pounds. However, as stated by Colao, the operations in the Turkey unit that fetched maximum service revenue in the last quarter does not fit in the current structure as it is already quite sophisticated and simultaneously emerging by itself, and an indicator of growth.

Vodafone is also hoping their partner Verizon considers a dividend from their wireless business as in the past. Vodafone owns a 45 percent share in Verizon Wireless.

article from: Mobile Bloom

In fact, the ICS update for the HTC Sensation 4G got delayed a couple of times in the past which prompted users of the handset to accuse the wireless provider of intentionally delaying the rollout of the update for the device to drive the sales of its new handsets that already ship with Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. Until now, that is.

That being said, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update is now finally being rolled out by T-Mobile and HTC to the HTC Sensation 4G starting today so chances are you already have the notification about the availability of the update on your handset waiting for you when you wake up. If the notification is still nowhere to be found, head on over to Settings > About phone > Software update to check if the update for your HTC Sensation 4G is ready yet. Once applied to the handset, the update will crank up the HTC Sensation 4G to Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 3.x.

However, the celebration of the update’s arrival on the HTC Sensation 4G will certainly be dampened by the fact that this particular update will kill the free tethering that users of the handset have been enjoying for the longest time. To coincide with this, the wireless provider announced that the $14.99 per month tethering plan will now be enforced which means that upgrading your HTC Sensation 4G to ICS will make you pay for tethering. The carrier however did not confirm if the same charges will apply to those users who will opt to stay in the Gingerbread generation so we have to wait for more infor regarding that. In the same vein, T-Mobile also announced that the ICS update will also become available for the HTC Amaze 4G on May 21.

As for the T-Mobile HTC Sensation 4G, the handset features a QualComm MSM8260 SnapDragon chipset at the heart of its circuitry and this SoC contains the dual-core 1.2 GHz Scorpion processor and 768 MB of RAM of the handset. In addition to that, the HTC Sensation 4G also comes with a dedicated Adreno 220 graphics chip in its circuitry to handle graphical concerns. As for its storage space, the handset has an internal memory pegged at 1GB which is rather measly when you come to think of it but the retail package of the HTC Sensation 4G comes with an 8GB microSD card for memory expansion so this shouldn’t be an issue really. In terms of its display, the HTC Sensation 4G packs a 4.3-inch SuperLCD panel with a qHD resolution of 960 x 540 pixels while its camera department is comprised of a rear-facing 8MP shooter and a front-facing VGA video call camera.

article from: Mobile Bloom

Buy the HTC One X starting at $129.

Regarding the patent dispute over the technology used in the devices, Apple managed a victory against HTC in December last year. HTC announced that HTC Evo 4G LTE and HTC One X were unavailable in the market on account of delay since a US Customs review of shipments has not been received. This comes after the ITC issued an exclusion order stating that HTC devices incorporated with the technology under dispute will not be allowed to enter the US markets starting from April. Though HTC claims to have made needed changes in the technology used in the devices, the shipments have to still undergo inspection.

A part of the shipments of HTC One X had arrived in the US prior to the ban date, making it possible to introduce the product in the market, but the rest of them are still being held. These HTC models are the first devices to face such action. Analysts are finding it difficult to predict how long it will be until the Customs clear the devices as the review has already been delayed by around a month. While AT&T’s website says the devices are out of stock, pre-orders are still being accepted on Sprint’s website.

HTC was high on success in 2010 and the start of 2011, with its shares increasing by three times in 14 months. With the company launching new phones with innovative features, they managed to increase their consumer base as shares continued to grow sharply. However, with the advent of the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy, HTC could not manage to keep up with the competition and soon began to falter rapidly.

The company’s CEO admitted that they may not be able to regain control over the US markets, like in times before the iPhone 4S took over. HTC’s One models, which have received positive feedback from reviewers, are a new direction for the company and are expected to give Apple and Samsung stiff competition. However, this delay is most certainly likely to impact HTC’s revenue earnings in the third and second quarter unless they find a way out.  Buy the HTC One X starting at $129.

article from: Mobile Bloom

With LightSquared and their associates filing for protection from bankruptcy in Manhattan, Falcone and the company’s creditors failed at reaching an agreement regarding the role played by him in the company. Falcone, who has invested all his assets into LightSquared, hopes to build a wireless network that gives leading companies like Verizon Wireless and AT&T tough competition. Filing for bankruptcy protection will give the company time to sort out issues of regulation before it can build an integrated satellite terrestrial 4G network and protection from its creditors who are running after quick profit, according to Falcone.

The US government’s decision to ask LightSquared to lay off their network building efforts came after the realization that the company’s network interfered with GPS airwaves utilized by the military and several industries.

Creditors want to reduce Harbinger’s ownership in the beleaguered company to 50 percent while the other half will be given to the bondholders. LightSquared blames the GPS industry and its leaders for their state of crisis by barring them from using the allocated spectrum, as stated by the Chief Financial Officer of the company. However, analysts believe that the lenders have been rather flexible in spite of LightSquared violating its debt terms. While LightSquared has $1 billion in assets, they are also in a massive debt of $2 billion.

Falcone has invested a lot of his money in LightSquared and this bankruptcy may lead to him losing all of his investments. The only way out will be to strike up a deal that amounts to over $2 billion, as pointed out by analysts. For this purpose he should consider entering into a strategic partnership or a spectrum swap.

Falcone’s career as a fund manager has been rather illustrious, but is also now in the doldrums. He played a part in increasing the assets of Harbinger Capital to $26 billion, which have now declined manifold to $4 billion this year. Investors may have flocked to his hedge fund in the hope that he would help them earn gains, but now he stands sued by individual and institutional investors who feel they haven’t been given their due share as Falcone has locked the portfolio in his attempt to conserve cash.

article from: Mobile Bloom

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket starting at $59.

Released late last year alongside the HTC Vivid 4G as one of the first true 4G devices to be offered by AT&T, the Samsung Galaxy  S II Skyrocket 4G immediately became one of the best smartphones in the lineup of the wireless provider. Unlike the other handsets that are marketed by AT&T as 4G devices which in actuality are just 3G and HSPA+ handsets, the Samsung Galaxy  S II Skyrocket 4G is a true 4G smartphone that will enable its users to realize the full potential of the ever-expanding LTE network of the wireless provider.

Looking back, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 4G has had its share of the headlines and digital ink in the past. The handset, given its impressive components and capabilities, has been slated to receive the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update and this as much was already confirmed by the handset’s manufacturer and AT&T themselves. Sad to say, the upgrade to the latest iteration of the Google mobile operating system is yet to land on the handset so users of the Samsung Galaxy  S II Skyrocket 4G had to be content with the various leaked ICS builds that managed to find their way to the internet just to get a feel for how ICS will look on the handset.

And to make things even more attractive for the Samsung Galaxy  S II Skyrocket 4G, the handset has just seen another price cut at a very popular online retailer. Right now, AT&T is offering the handset for $149.99 with a new two-year subscription, a price that befits the capabilities of the device but select AT&T authorized online retailers will let you have the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 4G for only $59.99 with the same two-year contract thereby giving you savings of $80 in the process.

As for its specs sheet, the Samsung Galaxy  S II Skyrocket 4G relies on a QualComm MSM8260 SnapDragon processor to power its operations while a dual-core Scorpion processor clocked at 1.5 GHz is complemented by a full gigabyte of RAM in giving the handset its snappy performance. The internal memory of the handset comes up to 16GB and a memory expansion slot lets a user add more storage to the device while its display is a SuperAMOLED Plus panel that measures 4.5 inches and packs a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The shooting department of the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket 4G is equally as impressive as well with the handset outfitted with an 8MP camera capable of 1080p recording at its back panel while its front bezel is home to the device’s 2MP video chat camera.  Buy the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket starting at $59.

article from: Mobile Bloom