According to reports, the search giant Google is not just planning to launch one successor to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Google Nexus S, and Google Nexus One, but five smartphones and tablets for the next iteration to Android, Jelly Bean.
Normally, Google contracted one Android manufacturer tasked to create the next Nexus for every new version of Android. However, it seems Jelly Bean will not be featured on just one device but five smartphones and tablets manufactured by as much as five manufacturers. Jelly Bean is expected to take off towards the end of November.
According to Wall Street Journal, the Nexus devices will be directly sold by Google. Currently in the US, the Galaxy Nexus is being sold by Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market).
The Nexus tablet is rumoured to be manufactured by ASUS. This is despite Samsung creating the Galaxy Nexus and its predecessor the Nexus S.
Would you rather get your hands on the next Nexus device from Google Play? Would this be better than getting the device from network operators? Do you think having as much as five Android manufacturers create Nexus smartphones and tablets is a decisive move by Google? Share your opinion through a comment.
According to Sony’s support forums reported by Pocketnow, the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update is rolling out to the Sony XPERIA S either late in May or early in June.
Responding to an inquiry, a member of the support team said, “Xperia S is planned to get ICS somewhere around late May/early June.”
The support team member adds, “That’s what’s been said and that’s still what we’re sticking to. Any other dates (such as “June/July”) is just speculation.”
This is good news to owners of the XPERIA S. Sony’s new handset shipped running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), when other handsets such as the HTC One X run Ice Cream Sandwich. They have also envied the rollout of ICS to older models such as the Galaxy S2.
Although the support team member, said that ICS was rolling out to the XPERIA S in “May/early June”, don’t expect your handset to get the update immediately. Sony says, “The roll out is, as always, gradual and will not happen over night for all phones. Some phones might get the update in late May whilst other[s] will get in mid-June etc.”
Are you one of the owners of the Sony XPERIA S? Can’t wait for Ice Cream Sandwich to roll out to your smartphone? Tell us what’s on your mind through a comment.
Almost 90% of Android handsets sold in the UK are manufactured by Samsung and HTC. Android now accounts for half of the latest phone sales, which is more than Apple. Surprisingly, Blackberry handsets are still in the game.
Android handsets account for 50.1% of phones sold across Britain, which puts Google’s OS in top position. This is an improvement from the same period in 2011, wherein Android accounted for 44.6 of phone sales. This is according to data gathered by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Their study also reveals that Samsung and HTC account for 86% of Android sales in the past three months.
HTC owes its success to the One X. Samsung owes its success to the highly popular Galaxy range, with phone like the Galaxy S2. The Korean tech giant is sure to do better, thanks to the recent release of the Galaxy S3.
Although HTC and Samsung are doing well in terms of phone sales, not all Android manufacturers can claim success. Sony only accounts for 10.4% of Android smartphone sales, while LG is in the bottom at less than a percent.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone may not be doing as well as Android, but it’s improved its sales from last year. It is up to 3.3% compared to a mere 0.8% back in 2011. Unsurprisingly, Symbian is down to just 1.6% this year, compared to 10.7% last year. Windows Phone owes its growth to Nokia’s Lumia range consisting of phones like the Lumia 800.
Blackberry suffered a catastrophic 2011, which would make you think that the Canadian firm is doomed. However, one in ten phones sold are Blackberry handsets. So, there seems to be a little fight left in RIM after all.
What do make of these figures by Worldpanel ComTech? Share your opinion through a comment.
The new white edition of the LG Optimus L7 which is an exclusive handset release for the 4U Group in the UK has now been launched on Orange contract deals after hitting the market on Vodafone last week, this fashionable Android smart phone joins a black edition in the range which is only currently available as a SIM free phone.
Orange contract deals for the new LG Optimus L7 white are being offered with line rental prices as low as £15.50 and a free handset can be ordered on every single pay monthly tariff, this latest addition to the new L-Style series is the top model and joins the LG Optimus L5 and L3 (which is also available in white) models in the range.
White LG Optimus L7
Key features of the new Optimus L7 include a 4.3 inch NOVA 480 x 800 pixel touch screen, a 5 mega pixel camera with full HD video recording and LED flash run by a fast 1GHz processor all packed into a housing just 8.7mm thin and is one of a very few phones to sport the new Android 4.0 operating system with others being the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X, One S and One V.
The NOVA technology used in the display screen produces ‘best in class’ screen brightness and colour rendering for an engaging viewing experience whilst the new Android system includes new menus and graphics plus a whole host of additional features and applications.
This is a large screen smart phone with a small price tag that’s elegant, slim and full of functionality, the black edition is also due to be released on contract deals very soon if white is not your colour!
The Samsung Galaxy S3’s battery was put to the test, and the initial results look promising. GSM Arena conducted the initial battery life test and managed to get 10 hours worth of talk-time. This means that it beat its predecessor that offers 8.5 hours and the iPhone 4S that only offers 7 hours and 40 minutes of talk-time.
The new Samsung flagship performed well in video playback as well. It offers 10 hours of video playback compared to just 9 hours and 20 minutes of the iPhone 4S and 8 hours of the Galaxy S2.
These are surprising figures. With the superphone’s 4.8-inch display and quad-core processor, you’d expect the handset to drain the batteries faster. However, it looks like the Korean tech giant has solved the riddle of smartphones conserving battery life.
Although the S3 passed its talk-time and video playback tests, it didn’t do as well when it comes to web browsing. It only managed to last for 5 hours compared to the 6 hours and 56 minutes of the 4S. However, it did beat the S2 that only managed to last 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Does this mean that these results are final? Not in the slightest. GSM Arena was given a pre-released model to test out. This means that Samsung will likely tweak the phone’s software to give the superphone an added boost.
Do these initial figures make you want to get your hands on a Samsung Galaxy S3? Give us your thoughts.
