Google Play's 25-cent promotional sale has gone into its final day with a handful of new apps and games that are just about as good as free. Topping the list are:
Check out our list of Android apps from the first four days below! Many of them have had their prices knocked back up to normal, but maybe you'll luck out. Oh, and be sure to leave a comment if you find any others that are on sale.
Sony recent announced it has begun to roll out Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to three of their devices. The Xperia U, Xperia Sola and Xperia Go were all released with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) as they represent entry level devices in Sony's lineup. We saw an update a few weeks back for these devices and we wondered whether or not that would pave the way for ICS, and we're glad to see that it did.
Here are some of the new features you can expect with the update:
Lock screen with better functionality
Resizable widgets
Improved control of data consumption
New ways to experience your Sony content in WALKMAN, Album and Movies
The Xperia Sola will also be getting 'glove mode', which will add Sony's "floating touch" technology to make it work well while wearing gloves
Remember, if you are going to update, you'll need to ensure that your device is attached to a computer. The update is beginning to rollout today and it will continue over the next few weeks, so if you haven't seen it yet, hold tight.
Have you received your update yet? We'd love to hear from you in our Sony Xperia Forum.
It's been a long time since the pretty stunning looking Acer Cloudmobile was unveiled -- Mobile World Congress in February -- but now, finally, the device is on sale in the UK. Online retailer, Expansys, now has the Cloudmobile in stock for £289.99, a slight increase on their pre-order price after the original expected September 5 date was missed.
Priced firmly in the mid-range category, the Cloudmobile is an attractive offering in this sector of the market. Packing a 4.3 inch 1280x720 HD IPS display, a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 8260A Processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of on-board storage. The battery isn't the largest at 1460 mAh, but it is removable, and there is a microSD card slot on board.
While the whole unveiling, disappearing, re-appearing release saga may put some off, the Cloudmobile still offers excellent value for money at this price point. While launching on Ice Cream Sandwich, it's pretty stock looking Ice Cream Sandwich, right down to the on-screen buttons. Flicking through the user manual for the Cloudmobile, it looks as if there are a few Acer customizations, such as in the lockscreen, but generally it's a pretty stock experience. And, it looks absolutely stunning, let's not forget that.
Google has finally made their Movies and TV app compatible with the Sony NSZ-GS7 Google TV box. One would think that an app for viewing TV shows would work out of the box for a TV set-top box, but until today it just wasn't so. It's all part of the bigger issue Google has with delivering content and media to Android devices, which currently outnumber everything else on the market from a market share perspective.
The good news is that you finally can watch shows and films you're rented or purchased, right on your big screen via the Sony Google TV box. If you've been waiting to give it a try, now's your chance. Grab it from Google Play.
Google Play's 25-cent promotional sale has gone into its final day with a handful of new apps and games that are just about as good as free. Topping the list are:
Check out our list of Android apps from the first four days below! Many of them have had their prices knocked back up to normal, but maybe you'll luck out. Oh, and be sure to leave a comment if you find any others that are on sale.
Apple has released the taller, thinner, faster, lighter, brighter iPhone 5 -- and we've got your definitive iPhone 5 review right here -- and now Samsung is bringing their next-generation giant, the Galaxy Note 2 to market.
As much as Samsung has been labeled a "copyist" over the course of the last couple years, the Galaxy Note series has always been a big exception, literally. Due to its size, some have labeled it a "phablet", half phone, half tablet. While it's both of those things, it's also neither. It's really a Wacom-style digitizer put into highly mobile form. And as anyone who's ever used a Wacom knows, it resembles a stylus in shape only.
So what happens when you put Apple's precision up against Samsung's power? The iPhone 5's elegance against the Galaxy Note 2's enormity? Let's take a look.
Powered by a quad-core 1.6 GHz Exynos 4 processor, the Galaxy Note 2 has some substantial horsepower behind it, along with a plentiful 2GB of on-board RAM. Combined with a whopping 3100mAh battery, we're expecting some serious longevity from this device. The Note 2 runs Jelly Bean out of the box, making Samsung's phone/tablet hybrid the first to ship with Android 4.1. And it now sports a 5.55-inch (non-PenTile) HD SuperAMOLED 1280x720 display, protected by Gorilla Glass 2. The extra size of the phone does add few of grams to its weight -- at 180 grams it isn't light, but it's not terribly heavy considering its monstrous size.
There are also numerous software enhancements, including the ability to command an on-screen cursor by hovering the stylus over the screen. This can be used to peek into gallery folders, calendar events expandable areas. And the usual selection of Samsung drawing and note-taking apps is included too, as are all of the software features of the Galaxy S3.
The iPhone 5 has a newly re-designed unibody aluminum chassis to allow for a bigger 4-inch screen in a phone that's 12% smaller by volume. It's taller but not wider, thinner and also lighter. That 4-inch screen also uses in-cell technology to combine the touch sensor right into the LCD. At 1136x640 and 326ppi, it's still backlit LED, and still IPS, and technically the best, most advanced panel on the planet for now. Apple also rolled their own, custom Apple A6 processor this time, based on ARM v7s, for amazing performance and excellent power management. There's still no NFC, but there is CDMA, HSPA, and international LTE.
iOS 6 comes loaded on the iPhone 5, and includes a new, controversial Maps app, some great extensions to Siri, deep Facebook integration, Passbook, and enhancements to FaceTime, Mail, Safari, Photo Stream, and Accessibility. And because Apple makes both the hardware and the software, there's no integration, no added interface layers, and a seamless experience overall.
Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 2: The bottom line
While the story of the Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 might remain one of precision vs. power, when it comes to the iPhone 5 vs. the Galaxy Note 2, the elegance vs. enormity line requires deeper inspection. A 5.5-inch phone display is something that fits the needs of a very specific niche -- namely those that want more than a traditional phone -- those who essentially want a mobile notepad.
For this reason, for most people, the iPhone remains the default choice, and the perfect blend of killer design and absolute ease of use. If you don't like something about the iPhone, there are also a bunch of great alternatives to consider, including the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, or the upcoming Nokia Lumia 920.
The Galaxy Note 2, due to its size and its Wacom technology, is a very, very specific one, and you'll likely know if you need it.
Apple has released the taller, thinner, faster, lighter, brighter iPhone 5 -- and we've got your definitive iPhone 5 review right here -- and now Samsung is bringing their next-generation giant, the Galaxy Note 2 to market.
As much as Samsung has been labeled a "copyist" over the course of the last couple years, the Galaxy Note series has always been a big exception, literally. Due to its size, some have labeled it a "phablet", half phone, half tablet. While it's both of those things, it's also neither. It's really a Wacom-style digitizer put into highly mobile form. And as anyone who's ever used a Wacom knows, it resembles a stylus in shape only.
So what happens when you put Apple's precision up against Samsung's power? The iPhone 5's elegance against the Galaxy Note 2's enormity? Let's take a look.
Powered by a quad-core 1.6 GHz Exynos 4 processor, the Galaxy Note 2 has some substantial horsepower behind it, along with a plentiful 2GB of on-board RAM. Combined with a whopping 3100mAh battery, we're expecting some serious longevity from this device. The Note 2 runs Jelly Bean out of the box, making Samsung's phone/tablet hybrid the first to ship with Android 4.1. And it now sports a 5.55-inch (non-PenTile) HD SuperAMOLED 1280x720 display, protected by Gorilla Glass 2. The extra size of the phone does add few of grams to its weight -- at 180 grams it isn't light, but it's not terribly heavy considering its monstrous size.
There are also numerous software enhancements, including the ability to command an on-screen cursor by hovering the stylus over the screen. This can be used to peek into gallery folders, calendar events expandable areas. And the usual selection of Samsung drawing and note-taking apps is included too, as are all of the software features of the Galaxy S3.
The iPhone 5 has a newly re-designed unibody aluminum chassis to allow for a bigger 4-inch screen in a phone that's 12% smaller by volume. It's taller but not wider, thinner and also lighter. That 4-inch screen also uses in-cell technology to combine the touch sensor right into the LCD. At 1136x640 and 326ppi, it's still backlit LED, and still IPS, and technically the best, most advanced panel on the planet for now. Apple also rolled their own, custom Apple A6 processor this time, based on ARM v7s, for amazing performance and excellent power management. There's still no NFC, but there is CDMA, HSPA, and international LTE.
iOS 6 comes loaded on the iPhone 5, and includes a new, controversial Maps app, some great extensions to Siri, deep Facebook integration, Passbook, and enhancements to FaceTime, Mail, Safari, Photo Stream, and Accessibility. And because Apple makes both the hardware and the software, there's no integration, no added interface layers, and a seamless experience overall.
Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy Note 2: The bottom line
While the story of the Apple iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 might remain one of precision vs. power, when it comes to the iPhone 5 vs. the Galaxy Note 2, the elegance vs. enormity line requires deeper inspection. A 5.5-inch phone display is something that fits the needs of a very specific niche -- namely those that want more than a traditional phone -- those who essentially want a mobile notepad.
For this reason, for most people, the iPhone remains the default choice, and the perfect blend of killer design and absolute ease of use. If you don't like something about the iPhone, there are also a bunch of great alternatives to consider, including the Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, or the upcoming Nokia Lumia 920.
The Galaxy Note 2, due to its size and its Wacom technology, is a very, very specific one, and you'll likely know if you need it.
