Saturday 25 August 2012

Android Community

Android Community


NASA PhoneSat sending Nexus One, Nexus S into space

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 04:42 PM PDT

It’s been a big summer for NASA. A few weeks back, it landed the Curiosity rover on the surface Mars, and it announced earlier this week that we’ll be going back to Mars in 2016 – this time to find out how the Red Planet evolved. But NASA’s upcoming plans don’t all have something to do with Mars as some of them, like PhoneSat, will be playing out much closer to home.


According to PC World, the goal of PhoneSat is to incorporate consumer devices into nanosatellites. The PhoneSat team has actually been working on this project for a number of years, but now it’s nearly time to launch the mission. At some point later this year, NASA PhoneSat will be launching satellites powered by the Nexus One and the Nexus S into space.

The Nexus One will be featured in PhoneSat 1.0, which understandably won’t be packing much power. That’s okay though, because with the two PhoneSat 1.0 satellites that go up, NASA is hoping to see if these phones can even operated in space. The Nexus One will be enclosed in a 10-by-10-by-10 centimeter square cube, with additional external batteries to keep the phone running and an external radio beacon that will communicate with the NASA team on Earth.

PhoneSat 2.0 will be a little more advanced than PhoneSat 1.0 (as if the name didn’t already give that away), as this satellite will feature a Nexus S. This one comes equipped with solar arrays and a GPS, however, which will allow PhoneSat 2.0 to stay operational in space longer. Two PhoneSat 1.0s and one PhoneSat 2.0 will be launching into space later this year, strapped to Orbital Sciences Corporation's new Antares rocket.

This all sounds pretty nuts, but you want to know what’s even more nuts? If this works, we’ll have a much cheaper way of putting satellites in space, as NASA says that it didn’t have develop any new technology for these launches and that each satellite only costs $3,500 to produce. This is a pretty exciting time to be a space junkie, so keep an ear to Android Community, since we’ll have that launch date once NASA solidifies it!

[Image via NASA Ames Research Center]


Samsung found guilty across the board – fined over 1 billion dollars

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 04:17 PM PDT

Things surely aren’t looking good for Samsung right about now. As I’m sure you’re all aware the lawsuit between Samsung and Apple is currently going through the final verdict stages. After a 3 week lawsuit and hours of deliberation the jury has found Samsung “guilty” for all 21 phones brought forward, but not on the Galaxy Tab line. More details below.

Tough break kid. The jury has ruled that Samsung infringed on multiple Apple patents for almost all of their devices starting with the original Samsung Galaxy devices like the Vibrant, the Nexus S, and multiple other phones. What makes this worse is everything Samsung brought forward was denied. The Jury has stated that nothing from Apple infringed Samsung’s Utility patents — nothing. Here’s some of the breakdown.

All of the devices listed were found to be infringing upon claim 19 of 301 patent including SEC, SEA, and STA: Galaxy Tab Wi-fi (SEA), Captivate (STA), Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit 4G, Galasy Ace, Prevail, S 4G, S II, Galaxy Tab, The Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerie, Nexus S 4G, Replenish and Vibrant.

For claim Two, Samsung devices were also found to infringe for SEC: For SEC Captivate, continuum, droid charge, fascinate, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S II, i9100, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Tab, Tab 10.1, Gem, Indulge, Infuse, Nexus S 4G. That's for Claim 8 of 915 patent. For SEA there was infringement on the part of the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and for STA infringement on the part of the Captivate, Continuum, Droid Charge, Exhibit, Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, S II AT&T, SII T Mobile, Galaxy Tab, Gem, Indulge, Infuse 4G, Mesmerize, Nexus S 4G, Transform and Vibrant.

The problem here is Samsung was also found guilty for willfully knowing they were infringing patents. They also were found guilty for basically tarnishing the image of the iPhone. We are still digging through all the details, not to mention I’m no patent lawyer, but things are looking very very bad for Samsung.

So far from reports at The Verge Samsung is required to pay Apple damages to the tune of $1,051,850,000. I’ll help you out: that is 1 billion, 51 million and 855,000 thousand dollars. Apple damages payable to Samsung: Zero. Stay tuned as we’ll update when we hear more.


Apple vs Samsung verdict reached – expect appeals

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 03:31 PM PDT

By now I’m sure you’re all aware of the Apple vs Samsung patent lawsuits trials that have been going on for far too long. Today however after 3 days of deliberating we will finally know the fate of both companies. According to CNET a verdict has been reached by the jury, and we are just awaiting the damaging details.

This multi-million, if not billion dollar lawsuit has been going on for weeks and weeks, with both sides presenting their side of the case. We’ve seen plenty of back and forth but eventually just wanted to wait it out as these lawsuits have been nothing but frustrating for all parties involved. That means Apple, Samsung, the courts, and of course consumers.

There is potentially tons at stake here. From millions if not billions of dollars in settlement fees, to the ban of potentially multiple Samsung smartphones and tablets. The same can be said about Apple as Samsung brought a pretty good case against them too. A Korean court today ruled in neither parties favor, and required them both to pay fines as well as banned multiple devices from both sides in the country.

So far we don’t have the actual verdict, as the courts are still sifting through all the details. According to The Verge Samsung has requested an additional 30 minutes to look over the verdict, and the Judge is doing the same. Basically this entire drawn out and ridiculous set of lawsuits is almost over — only it isn’t. No matter what the outcome we will most certainly see an appeal from one side, if not both.

Update: So far Samsung has been found guilty of infringement on multiple levels, for a good 19 different smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 10. Things aren’t looking good but we are still waiting to hear all the details.


Samsung Galaxy Stellar heads to Verizon for $99

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 01:58 PM PDT

A new smartphone from the folks at Samsung is prepared to grace the Verizon Wireless network. It’s called the Samsung Galaxy Stellar and we don’t know much about it. Today some new details have been unearthed about this budget phone showing that it will hit Verizon soon for the low low price of just $99 dollars.

The above screenshot was gathered by Droid-Life and all it does is leave us asking questions. Back in March Samsung trademarked the Galaxy Stellar name, and now we’re about to find out more details on this mystery handset.

Obviously this will be some type of mid-range device considering Verizon will be asking $99 for the phone, but the odd part about this leak is the inclusion of Amazon Android apps and the “starter mode.” It clearly lists users being entertained by Amazon Apps, which leads us to think it will have their app store rather than Google’s. Why anyone would want only that options beats me, but Verizon and Samsung might know something we don’t.

Maybe this will be a near top end device only without the Google Play Store thus explaining the lower price point — but who knows. That also could just be an odd way of saying it will also come pre-loaded with Amazon’s options. It looks like the online retail giant either paid Verizon or Samsung a good sum of money. We should be hearing more soon as this device is set to hit the market for just $99.


Jelly Bean hits the ASUS Transformer Pad TF300 in the UK

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 01:14 PM PDT

The folks from ASUS quietly started pushing out Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to their popular quad-core Transformer Pad TF300 this weekend. The update started arriving for those across the US but today another region is being graced with the highly anticipated update. ASUS is now rolling it out across the UK.

Those across the pond are now starting to receive the update right on their tablets, and it should be available as we speak. This was reported earlier, but this morning ASUS UK Facebook confirmed the update with the snazzy photo you see above. Who’s ready for those tasty Jelly Beans?

You’ll want to reach for the butter popcorn flavor, because Jelly Bean and project butter is extremely smooth and stable. ASUS was expected to be one of the first to Jelly Bean and these latest updates are right on time.

ASUS was nice enough to tell everyone “enjoy your first taste of Jelly Beans on a big screen!” And trust me, we are. As usual the update should arrive over the air right on the tablet. Or head into settings and check for updates manually if you don’t want to wait. We can expect further updates and announcements for the Transformer Prime, Infinity, and hopefully the original all coming soon.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : Transformer Pad 300
    Manufactuer : Asus
    Carrier : NA
    Announced Date : February 27, 2012
    Release Date : April 22, 2012
    Also Known As :
Display
  • Screen Size : 10.1 Inch
  • Resolution : 1280x800
  • Screen Type : IPS LCD
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 10.35 Inch
  • Width : 7.12 Inch
  • Depth : 0.39 Inch
  • Weight : 635 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Polymer
  • Battery Capacity : mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : Tegra 3
    CPU Clock Speed : 1400 Mhz
    Core : 4
    Ram : 1024 MB
    Internal Storage : 16 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution : 8 MP
    External Storage:
  • MicroSD
  • MicroSDHC
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • Bluetooth 3.0
    Location Features:
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

– Thanks Jimmy2k!


Apple and Samsung both infringe on each other’s patents, Korean court rules

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 01:02 PM PDT

Apple and Samsung may currently be engaged in a high-profile patent suit here in the States, but the companies are actually going to war all around the world. A similar case in South Korea has just wrapped up, with a Seoul court ruling that Apple and Samsung have infringed on each other’s patents. What’s worse is that Apple and Samsung are now banned from selling a variety of devices in South Korea, including the Galaxy S II for Samsung and the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 for Apple.


Much like the court case here in the US, Apple accused Samsung of copying the design of the iPhone with devices of its own. While the court ruled that Samsung didn’t infringe on the design of the iPhone, it did find that Samsung and Apple are guilty of infringing on each other’s patents. Apple, the court rules, has infringed on one of Samsung’s patents, while Samsung has infringed on two of Apple’s. As a result, Samsung must pay a fine of 40 million won (around $35,300, or $17,650 for each patent), while Apple will be forced to pay 25 million won ($22,000) for its infringement. Reuters reports that the fines are so small because of the size of the South Korean market.

The Judge deciding the case said that consumers are unlikely to confuse devices from the two companies, since both company’s logos are printed on the back of the phones. The Judge also cited the differences in applications and operating systems as reasons why consumers probably wouldn’t get confused, and recognized Samsung’s attempt at differentiating its products from Apple’s, despite the fact that making significant changes to touchscreen phones isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do.

One has to wonder if the case here will go the same direction. There are similarities between the iPhone and some Samsung devices, yes, but you would be hard pressed to find a smartphone that was truly unique from every other device out there. In any case, the jury began deliberation on Wednesday, so it shouldn’t be too much longer before we have a winner in the case. Then again, Apple and Samsung both presented a lot of evidence throughout the trial, so we might be waiting a while. Stay tuned.


Samsung details building the Galaxy S III in new video

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 12:07 PM PDT

We all know Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone is super popular. If you all remember the initial launch there was a lot of talk about it being “designed for humans, inspired by nature.” Today we have a new video from the folks at Samsung showing us just all went into the creation and design of their new top-tier smartphone.

The video is about 5 minutes long, showing us the entire design team behind the Galaxy S III. Many love the design and a few don’t, but either way it has been selling like hot cakes. Samsung has reported well over 10 million sold already — so that’s a good sign. The clip starts off with their Senior VP of Mobile design and then continues through the group. Take a peek below.

The video is in Korean, but they’ve been nice enough to provide English subtitles so we can all follow along. The designers claim they found inspiration from nature for the clean and curved lines representing what we know and love as the Galaxy S III. Pretty neat little video if you ask us.

One designer even goes as far as to mention that the overall design, shape, and creation was in the end inspired by a pebble found on the beach. That is also where they came up with the Pebble Blue color option available today. Whether you love or hate the new Galaxy S III the phone is impressive and you should certainly give it a look and try. Check out our reviews and previous coverage below.

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : Galaxy S III
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : NA
    Announced Date : May 03, 2012
    Release Date : May 29, 2012
    Also Known As : The Next Galaxy, SGSIII
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.8 Inch
  • Resolution : 720x1280
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED HD
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.37 Inch
  • Width : 2.77 Inch
  • Depth : 0.33 Inch
  • Weight : 133 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 2100 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
Hardware
    CPU : Exynos 4 Quad
    CPU Clock Speed : 1400 Mhz
    Core : 4
    Ram : 1024 MB
    Internal Storage : 32 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution : 8 MP
    External Storage:
  • MicroSD
  • MicroSDHC
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • A2DP
  • Bluetooth 4.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

[via SlashGear]


LG teases second gen quad-core smartphone in new video

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 11:47 AM PDT

LG is gearing up for a big month in September, all starting with IFA next week in Berlin, Germany. We’ve seen countless leaks regarding their new smartphone, and Qualcomm even confirmed their new quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor will be powering LG’s upcoming flagship superphone. Now LG is getting things started with a quick teaser video.

The video doesn’t reveal much and certainly isn’t in English, but you can gather enough from it to know they are talking about their next smartphone, and Qualcomm’s quad-core processor. We’ve seen multiple leaks starting with the Optimus LTE 2, the LG Eclipse 4G LTE quad-core for AT&T, and the recent reports regarding an Optimus G.

LG is planning to launch what will be the first smartphone powered by Qualcomm’s new superchip, and it will be the most powerful smartphone to date if all the recent reports are correct. We had a chance to sit down with Qualcomm and their new Snapdragon S4 Pro and can tell you that it without a doubt will be topping the benchmark charts.

This video is perfect timing considering IFA is coming up later this month and the first week of September. We have a feeling LG will be making a large splash with this new smartphone shortly. According to earlier confirmations by Qualcomm, LG will be releasing this phone in September internationally, and then in the US early October. We’ll be live at IFA to report any and all the goods so stay tuned. Hit the links below for details on everything mentioned above.

[via The Verge]


Android 4.1 Jelly Bean leaks for T-Mobile Galaxy S III

Posted: 24 Aug 2012 11:14 AM PDT

Earlier this week we saw our first official leak of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for the popular Galaxy S III smartphone. The only problem was the leak was only for the international version, not for those here in the US. Today however the T-Mobile Galaxy S III has just received its own little box of Jelly Beans.

We’ve heard multiple rumors and talk that Samsung has been diligently working on an update for their new flagship smartphone, and that we very well could see Jelly Bean officially roll out by the end of this month. That is looking quite likely now that we are seeing multiple different models all get fairly stable leaks.

Thanks to XDA Developers the T-Mobile Galaxy S III Jelly Bean leak is available as we speak. So far it looks almost exactly like the earlier international leak, and we aren’t seeing much for changes. Samsung managed to keep this Galaxy launch all the same across all carriers so hopefully they’ll be able to roll out multiple updates with ease.

We still aren’t sure if carriers will approve and update their versions as fast as the international model, but as of right now it’s looking quite possible. In order to flash the leak you’ll be required to be running the latest official stock update from T-Mobile, and flash it in recovery. We are hearing some were able to keep root, but that is unconfirmed. As usual flash at your own risk. Enjoy!

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
    Device Name : Galaxy S III
    Manufactuer : Samsung
    Carrier : T-Mobile
    Announced Date : June 04, 2012
    Release Date : June 21, 2012
    Also Known As : SGH-T999 (T-Mobile)
Display
  • Screen Size : 4.8 Inch
  • Resolution : 720x1280
  • Screen Type : Super AMOLED HD
Dimension & Weight
  • Height : 5.37 Inch
  • Width : 2.77 Inch
  • Depth : 0.33 Inch
  • Weight : 133 Grams
Battery & Power
    Battery Type:
  • Lithium Ion
  • Battery Capacity : 2100 mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA
Software
    Android OS:
  • 4.0.x
    Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV
  • WMA
    Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • 3GP
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)
  • WMV
    Messaging:
  • SMS
  • MMS
  • IM
Hardware
    CPU : MSM8960 Snapdragon
    CPU Clock Speed : 1500 Mhz
    Core : 2
    Ram : 2000 MB
    Internal Storage : 16 GB
    Front Facing Camera :
    Camera Resolution : 8 MP
    External Storage:
  • MicroSD
  • MicroSDHC
    Camera Features:
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • 1080p Video Recording
  • 720p Video Recording
    Sensors:
  • Accelerometer
  • Ambient light
  • Proximity
    QWERTY :
Cellular Network
    Network Technology:
  • GSM
    GSM Band:
  • 850
  • 900
  • 1800
  • 1900
Device Connectivity
    Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n
    Bluetooth:
  • A2DP
  • Bluetooth 4.0
    Location Features:
  • Compass
  • GPS
  • Cellular location
  • Wi-Fi location
    FM Radio :
    NFC :

[via Phandroid]


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